


Tangled Blood

by Anonymous



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:41:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 65,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28045611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Malekith removes the Aether from Jane's body but she does not heal instantly. Odin feels Hela trying to break out of her prison and tries to stop her resulting in him over using his magic and falling into Odinsleep. Loki is not killed by the Kursed's sword and finds himself tagging along with his not-brother and his human lover. As the events unfold Thor, Jane and Loki find their lives tangled with each other's in ways they had never imagined.
Relationships: Frigga | Freyja/Odin (Marvel), Jane Foster/Loki, Jane Foster/Loki/Thor, Jane Foster/Thor, Loki/Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 49
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Loki watched carefully as Malekith of Svartalfheim held out a hand towards Jane Foster. From the ground Thor caught his eye for a moment before looking back at Jane. The woman was held mid air as Malekith pulled the Aether from her body. Loki winced internally. That had to have hurt extremely. But now was not the time for sentiment.

As the last wisp of the Aether was pulled from Jane Foster, Thor looked at Loki and yelled. "Loki! Now!"

Loki immediately dispelled his illusion and Mjolnir smacked into Thor's hand which he'd never cut off in the first place. Before Malekith could make sense of what was happening, Thor raised Mjolnir and aimed for the Aether, hitting it with his most powerful lightning strike. Loki quickly covered Jane's body with his own, shielding her. There was a huge blast as the Aether was broken into shards.

Loki and everyone else looked at the Aether but Loki's attention was soon diverted as Jane coughed violently till blood spattered the ground. It would appear she was not as healed as they had expected her to be. Loki did not have time to think on it, the shards of Aether moved on their own and combined again to form the Aether once more and then promptly went into Malekith. Curse it! Thor's plan had failed terribly.

Loki got up ready to strike but Malekith simply turned to leave, his lackeys left behind to clean up the mess. Beside him Jane Foster also got up with some effort. Thor started towards them but was attacked. The Kursed threw one of his special bombs and without thinking Loki pushed Jane out of the way. An action that resulted in him getting caught in the small black hole created by the bomb. He tried to free himself but in vain, however before he was consumed, Thor flew towards him and knocked him out of the path of the black hole.

Loki hit the ground hard but recovered quickly standing up. Thor flew towards the Kursed knocking both of them into a far mountain. Other dark elves surrounded Loki. He gripped his dagger and fought them off. Jane staggered to a sitting position and looked around, seeing both Loki and Thor fighting though Loki was doing a bit better than Thor who was currently in the grip of the Kursed. She had to help him somehow. Jane struggled to get up but managed it eventually and headed for Thor.

Loki stabbed the last of the dark elf soldiers and saw that the Kursed had Thor on the ground and was quiet literally pummeling him. He looked around for a weapon and saw the sword of the Kursed fallen on the ground along with one of those bombs. Perfect. Loki picked them up and decided to go around and stab the damn thing from behind. Jane drug herself near Thor and saw Loki come behind the monster and drive a giant sword in it's back.

She rushed towards them when she realized the monster was not dead yet. She pushed Loki to the side just as the Kursed made to grab him. Loki looked at her surprised then quickly shielded her as there was a blast. Jane realized he had put a bomb on the Kursed. Clever bastard she thought absently as the Kursed's body folded in on itself. Thor came beside them as the Kursed vanished through a black hole. Loki let go of Jane as Thor knelt beside her and enveloped her in a hug

"Thank you." Thor said to Loki. Jane was going to thank him too but she found her breath caught in her throat and was overcome with coughs again. She tried to take a breath and stop but she couldn't and she felt blood fill her mouth.

Loki looked at the human with his head tilted. She should have recovered by now but it would seem the Aether had been in her body too long despite Thor's best efforts. Pity. Loki actually rather liked this one. Thor looked at him. "What's wrong with her?!"

Loki shrugged. "How should I know? I'm not an expert on the long term effects of infinity stones."

"Loki" Thor growled in that tone that his voice took when he found Loki's attitude annoying.

"D-don't f-fight" Jane managed to breathe out.

"Why not?" Loki asked just to be contrary.

Now Jane Foster was looking at him like Thor often did. "Because we're in the middle of a wasteland and need to stop that weirdo from turning the universe into a black hole?"

Loki really liked this woman. It was so sad she was dying. "Ah yes. Give me a moment."

Loki closed his eyes and reached out with his sedir searching for a path any path other than the one they had just come through. With the convergence upon them there should be more paths open now. A tingle sparked in the back of his mind. There! Loki smiled.

"I've got it! Come along. This way." Loki walked ahead without waiting for a response.

Jane and Thor looked at each other before following him, Thor almost carrying Jane to keep up. Loki went into a cave and looked around. There were shoes, and cans and various other knick knacks scattered on the floor of the cave.

"These definitely don't belong here." Jane commented.

Loki nodded absently trying to figure out where the opening was. Suddenly strange music started playing from somewhere. Loki looked at Jane and Thor in confusion.

"It's not me" Thor shrugged

"Oh!" Jane exclaimed and pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

" _Hi. It's me Richard"_

"Hey Richard! Where are you?" Jane asked pointing the phone in the air and putting it on speaker.

Loki tilted his head again and Thor looked confused.

" _I'm still at the office. It's been a crazy day here."_

"This is amazing! How am I getting service in here?!" Jane exclaimed.

" _It is? I actually really enjoyed our lunch the other day despite never ordering anything."_

Oh. Loki bit his lip resisting the urge to laugh as Thor frowned and Richard on the phone tried to invite Jane to lunch again, probably in the hopes of kindling a romance. Oh this right here was just precious. Thor was now glaring at the phone. Richard continued to babble.

"Uh huh." Jane responded distractedly, reaching one hand blindly behind her and grabbing Thor's hand. Loki followed them, grinning at Thor's back.

They all went through the secret path and Loki found himself on Midgard near an abandoned place. Jane ended the call with Richard. Loki was going to disappear from Thor's sight now while he was distracted but Jane was again overcome with coughs with so much force she fell to her knees. Loki found himself kneeling beside her and gently examining her with his sedir. He winced. Jane's internal organs were practically liquid. She was standing through sheer force of will alone.

"What? What is it? Tell me Loki. Why isn't Jane healing?" Thor asked worried

Loki frowned. "She needs time and rest. Her internal organs are extremely damaged, hence the blood. I doubt the healers on Midgard are capable enough. She needs Lady Eir or one of our other healers."

"Or you. You can help her too. Please Loki. Just for now. You...you can go then. I'm.... I'm not going to drag you back to Asgard. You're free. Just please help Jane." Thor pleaded.

Loki's eyebrows rose in surprise. He looked at Jane, then sighed. "Well I need a proper place. Can't do this on the side of the road. Does she have a house here?"

Jane nodded before Thor could respond. "Y-yeah. I'll drive. Come on" she panted, getting up. She then looked at Loki. "You might want to look less like...you? Erik's going to be there and he'll not handle it well and if anyone sees you it'll be all over the internet and then the avengers are going to show and I don't think you want that."

Loki looked at Jane amused. He had made the avengers do exactly what he wanted when he'd been half mad and a slave to the mind stone. He was more than capable of handling them now but she did have a point. They had bigger problems to focus on at the moment. So Loki stood up and with a thought changed to his female form. Jane took a step back in surprise.

"Woah! You..." Jane leaned in looking at Loki who was now slightly shorter though still taller than most women. Jane poked one finger at her cheek, then twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. She grinned at Loki. "It's not an illusion! This is so cool! Oh and you have great taste in clothes by the way."

Loki smiled at her. "Thank you. I'll conjure one for you if you want later."

Thor looked between, confused. "Uh..."

"Awesome." Jane replied. "Come on let's go. Darcy is so going to love you. What should I call you?"

"Vanya from Vanaheim. I used to pretend I was from my aunt's court whenever I took this form" Loki explained.

Jane nodded and headed for her car, Loki following her at a more sedate pace. Thor blinked wondering what had just happened before rushing to catch up with the two women. Loki sat in the seat beside Jane so that left Thor with no choice but to sit behind them both. It was a tight fit for his huge frame but he knew better than to complain.

He did have one question though. "So... who's Richard?"

Jane glared at him. "Really?"

Loki snickered. Thor hunched in his seat. Jane shook her head and rolled her eyes, backing out of the abandoned warehouse. She drove through the streets to her apartment. Loki looked at everything curiously. Jane stopped at her apartment and they all got out. Jane led them to her floor and opened the door with her keys. Inside Loki saw Erik Selvig along with another woman and a young man. The woman immediately came to Jane.

"Jane! You can't just leave like that. The whole world is going crazy!" The woman exclaimed. "All the stuff we saw is spreading. Did you go to a party?" She asked looking at Jane's dress.

Thor hung Mjolnir on one of the hooks with coats on them. Loki looked at him like he'd lost his mind. But then Jane doubled over and vomited more blood out. Loki and Thor were immediately beside her. Thor picked her up and laid her on a sofa. Loki knelt beside her. She could see Jane's veins through her skin which was concerning.

Loki reached out with her sedir again and found that though the Aether had left Jane's body, it had attempted to open Jane to sedir. But Jane was human and while it was not impossible for a human to learn sedir, it took time and patience and effort. The Aether had tried to speed up the process resulting in some weak sedir channels being opened in Jane's body that were now trying to pull sedir that Jane had no capability to handle and as a result the sedir was hurting her rather than helping her. This was not good, in fact this was horrible. If the weak channels were not closed or transformed into strong channels soon, Jane would perish. Loki relayed that to Thor while carefully pulling as much of the abnormally absorbed sedir as she could from Jane's body. In the end Loki ended up holding a golden mass of energy.

"That was inside Jane? What is that exactly? I'm Darcy by the way. I'm Jane's intern and that's Ian he's my intern. Who are you?" Darcy asked.

"I'm Vanya. I'm from Vanaheim. Thor is my friend. He called me to help him pull the Aether which Jane had absorbed accidentally. We managed it but it seems we were not fast enough. I can't do this on my own Thor. I need Lady Eir to help me. Closing or expanding or doing anything else to sedir channels is delicate work. It needs time and patience otherwise I might end up making things worse for Jane." Loki explained.

"How much time would you need?" Thor asked.

"A day? A week? A month? I cannot tell that now. I need to examine Jane with the soul forge and then I need to talk to Lady Eir and depending on how strong Jane is, how much rework her body is able to handle at one time we'll see how to proceed further. It's nothing I can do with a battle hanging over our heads. I have temporarily drained excess sedir from Jane's body so she should be fine for a while. It is just a temporary fix though, the more permanent one will take time." Loki insisted.

Thor nodded. "Thank you Vanya. We have no choice but to wait. We need to deal with Malekith. Where do we even find him? He could quite literally be anywhere."

Jane sat up with some effort. "No he has to be at the point that will allow him to access all the realms at the same time. Erik, I need all the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything."

Erik who had been sitting till now got up and Loki saw he was not wearing pants. Why did her brother always make strange friends? Erik looked like he was not all there but he did look at Jane in concern. "Are you sure you're up for this Janey? You look like you need a good sleep."

Jane sighed. "I'm up for it. I actually feel a lot better now that the weird golden glowy thingy in no longer inside me. Come on we need to figure this out."

But Erik looked at Thor instead, he seemed nervous. "Hey Thor. Your...your brother is not going to show up is he?"

Thor looked at Vanya and at Jane and back at Erik. "Uh...no...Loki is....Loki is in prison on Asgard....very good security...he's...he's not escaping anytime soon..."

"Yes it's not as if Thor is going to help him escape with the promise of getting revenge on their mother's killer in the hopes that Loki can in turn help him escape Asgard and he can then fix Jane." Loki drawled.

"Nope that's just plain crazy idea. Who would....who would do that?" Thor laughed nervously.

Erik looked between them a bit confused but then focused on Loki. "You're from Vanaheim right? Isn't that the land of magic? Why can't you just use a spell to fix Jane?"

Loki frowned. "Magic is not as simple as reading out some words from a book. There is much more to it than that. It has the ability to affect the metaphysical dimension. One wrong move will affect not just Jane's body but also her soul. I could end up destroying her soul, like snuffing out a candle. Can we please focus on Malekith for now?"

Thor stepped in between Loki and Erik before Loki lost her patience. "Yes..yes we can do that. Erik your research, we need to see your research."

Erik looked at Loki for a moment more, then nodded, turning to fetch his research. Thor looked at Loki silently pleading her to be nice. Loki nodded. Jane laid back down and closed her eyes, resting while she could.

** Throne Room, Royal Palace of Asgard **

Odin watched from Hlidskjalf as Loki, Thor and Jane disappeared from his sight as soon as Thor opened Loki's chains. He tried to search for them but it was no use. Loki was a very powerful mage, more powerful than Thor or any other Aesir realized. Odin turned away from the Hlidskjalf frustrated. Why couldn't Thor just listen to him for once? Odin winced as he felt a pull on his sedir. With the convergence the barriers between realms had thinned enough that Hela was attempting to escape her prison. Odin closed his eyes and pushed back against her. But Hela's sedir was dark and angry and Odin was not the man he had once been. Still he managed to push her back somewhat.

"My King?" A voice asked. Odin opened his eyes and turned. The council members were standing at the entrance of the throne room and Armod had come in probably to ask if Odin was willing to speak with them. Odin was not in the mood for it but he had little choice. when the crown prince, helped the disgraced prince escape prison and then proceeded to escape the realm with his supposed lover and aforementioned disgraced prince, the people had questions. Questions that even the King could not avoid.

Odin sighed. "Yes. Let them in." He sat on the throne heavily. The council members came in and General Tyr was about to speak but at that moment, Hela once again tried to break free and this time Odin was not prepared for the force of her attack. Odin screamed and Hela's sedir tried to tear him apart. Odin summoned all of his sedir and pushed her back violently, but Hela was prepared. Odin felt his sedir being sucked and had no choice but to let go and instead seek a connection with Asgard's core to fight Hela off. Unfortunately in the past years when he would do this, it would be with the help of an anchor which he did not have right now. So Odin was overwhelmed with sedir and his body unable to handle the sudden pressure it was put under, succumbed and as the council members watched in horror, Odin fell into Odinsleep.

TBC....


	2. Chapter 2

** Throne Room, Royal Palace of Asgard **

Heimdall sighed as the good Lords and Ladies argued among themselves like little children.

"We must call Prince Thor back immediately!"

"Someone must have poisoned King Odin!"

"Heimdall you must get Prince Thor and Prince Loki as well. They must both be here!"

Heimdall banged his fist on the table silencing the people. "I will not fetch Prince Thor or Prince Loki. King Odin has simply succumbed to Odinsleep. There is no need to panic so much. The mission Prince Thor and Prince Loki are on is much more important. This council can handle the ruling for one day!"

"Heimdall! How can you say this?" Tyr asked. "You know Prince Thor is of age. He must sit in his father's stead. Those are our laws!"

"Our laws will mean nothing if Malekith destroys everything!" Heimdall argued. "I am not asking you to take over for Prince Thor. I am simply asking to wait. Wait till the convergence has passed. I can testify that no one poisoned King Odin and that Prince Loki was freed by Prince Thor himself. They have gone to fight Malekith, something that should have been King Odin's perogative but instead he chose to hide like a coward! The very least this council can do is support Prince Thor and Prince Loki!"

The council fell silent at that, knowing there was truth in Heimdall's words. Heimdall got up from the table. "Respected council members, as watcher of the Bifrost, I warn you the threat of Malekith is very real. I would recommend you prepare the people and deploy the soldiers in the event that it comes to a war. I will guard the Bifrost with my life and you have my word I will personally bring Prince Thor and Prince Loki should we survive the coming disaster."

The council members nodded. "We will do as you say Heimdall." General Tyr replied. Heimdall nodded and gripped Hofund, heading for the Bifrost. He prayed to the Norns that Thor and Loki did not fail.

** Jane's Apartment, London, Earth **

Thor stroked Jane's hair as she breathed out slowly. He could see how pale her skin had been become. It was almost translucent and the veins beneath were visible. Thor was worried she was not going to survive the coming hours. He had half a mind to return to Asgard and beg Odin to let Loki and Eir help Jane, universe be damned. But he knew that was not the way to go. Despite his words, he trusted Loki and he knew that if Loki said Jane could not be healed immediately then she would not heal immediately. After all Loki was the finest mage Thor had ever seen and he did save Thor and Jane when they were fighting the dark elves. He was here now willing to work with the humans to defeat Malekith. Thor was hoping he could use everything Loki had done today to get a pardon for him from Odin. It was the least he could do for Loki.

"None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether." Jane whispered.

Thor stroked her cheek. "That's not true. If you hadn't found it, Malekith would have only possessed it that much sooner."

"I only found it because I was looking for you. You left and then you never came back....well you did but not to me. I just....I wanted to see you..." Jane explained.

Thor felt guilty. He should have come back to Jane. He would have if Odin hadn't been so against it. But that was no excuse, Thor should have come back to her anyway. "Jane. I..."

"Alright." Erik said spreading a map on the table, cutting Thor off. "Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the nine worlds are connecting, amplyfying the weapon's impact. So all we have to do is find it."

"I'm sorry. I just...where are your pants?" Loki asked. "Why are you not wearing pants?"

"Oh. He says it helps him think." Ian piped up from the corner. Loki looked at him baffled.

"Anyways. As I was saying...we need to find him. Because the ways things are shaping up, for each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be...universal." Erik explained.

Thor looked at the map. "Yes that is fine. But the alignment is only temporary. He must be in exactly the right place at the right time. Vanya where do you think we can find the spot where the worlds connect?"

Loki looked at the map. "Midgard is the gateway to the other realms. There secret paths here to every realm in the world tree, even Helheim. I say the spot is here on Midgard. But where....? Do you have a map? An ancient map I mean, one made by your ancestors?"

Erik grinned at Loki. "Yes..yes that is a good idea. All the ancient civilizations were there to witness the convergence when it happened thousands of years ago. The Eygptians, the Chinese, the Mayans, used the it's gravitational effects for their constructions. That's it. Let me see."

Erik got a marker and a scale and made marks on the map. "The Stonehenge, the Great Orme, Snowdon, these are all co-ordinates taking us to..." Erik drew lines and they all intersected at one spot....Greenwich.

"Greenwich?" Darcy asked. "Talk about convinient."

Jane pulled herself to the table. "The walls between the worlds will be almost non-existent. Physics is going to go ballistic. Increases and decreases in gravity, spacial extrusions, the very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart."

"I should be able to pull massive amounts of sedir..." Loki said almost to herself. "And if I can do that....Malekith with the Aether....he could rewrite reality and make it whatever he wants it to be....we can't let that happen."

Thor summoned Mjolnir to himself. "We won't. How far is Greenwich? We must go there now."

"I better get my pants." Erik commented.

"I need my equipment. It should help us predict where Malekith is going to land. Darcy?" Jane prompted.

"On it. Oh and you definitely need some pants too." She pointed out.

Loki waved one hand dressing herself in armor and Jane in jeans and shirt with a coat that looked like real fur. Darcy blinked at her. "Ok. You are cool and we are so including you the next time me and Janey go on a girls night."

Loki only grinned in return. They packed all of Jane's equipment and headed for Greenwich.

On the other side of the globe, Tony Stark was in his lab. "Ok Jarvis run that again."

" _Running equations and simulations again. The results have remained unchanged for the last three cycles sir."_

"Damn. This is not good. This is so not good. Ok. Search the web through and through, any pictures, posts, hell hints of aliens and I want it on this screen right and prep the armor. When was Thor seen last?" Tony asked.

" _Several hours ago. The Bifrost hit an abandoned warehouse and local police responded. Dr. Foster went with Prince Thor according to Scotland Yard's report. There has been no sighting of them since._ "

"Yeah that's not good either. The report said Jane Foster released some kind of energy right? And then Thor took her and they're awol and look at these readings. Physics is going nuts. There has to be a connection I know it." Tony spoke to himself more than to Jarvis.

" _Sir. I am seeing....I am not sure what I am seeing. There have been strange sightings in Greenwich, London."_

Jarvis put videos on Tony's screen. "Fuck is that a spaceship? Jarvis contact Scotland Yard and the UN. Deploy the armor, put Veronica on standby and tell Pep I'm gonna be late for lunch!" Tony said rushing to put on his armor.

In Greenwich, Darcy and Ian unloaded Jane's equipment. "Focus. This is important. We have to hammer them in all around the site and then Jane and Erik will activate them from the tower."

"They're taped together!" Ian exclaimed.

Darcy looked at him frustrated. "Do you even know what these things do?"

"Uh. No" Ian replied.

Darcy looked at him. "Neither do I." She admitted. "But we have to get them in position so come on!"

Jane and Erik made their way through the library, while Ian and Darcy hammered the pods into the ground. Suddenly something disturbed the water. People started running as a huge black spaceship became visible. The ship came through the water onto the ground and went through the square. People ran for their lives, some tripping over and falling down. But then suddenly there were green shields all around the people, preventing the debris from hitting them. The people looked around and saw a woman clad in black armor with long black hair and glowing green eyes. She conjured a huge green shield and space ship could not move any further and had to stop. The people took this opportunity to run into the nearby buildings. Once they were inside Loki conjured her shields again, this time they covered the buildings completely.

"Don't move." She ordered the people who were looking at her in awe. Some of them had their phones out and were recording her. Loki ignored them focusing on the ship where she could see Malekith coming out. Portals started forming in the sky. Thor landed beside Loki.

"You needn't have come so far Asgardians. Death would've come to you soon enough." Malekith said.

"Not by your hand!" Thor replied. Loki watched Malekith carefully waiting for a chance.

"Your universe was never meant to be. Your world and your family will be extinguished!" Malekith yelled.

Loki threw a well aimed dagger at him but Malekith sent a blast of sedir towards her, turning her dagger to dust and hitting her square in the chest. Loki flew back into a building her own shields preventing her from hitting the stone walls. The people exclaimed in surprise. Loki was back on her feet in a second. Thor tried to hit Malekith with his lightning but he too could not hit him. A red and gold armor landed beside Thor and the helmet retracted to reveal the Man of Iron.

"Ok what the hell? What have we got here Thor?" He asked looking around.

Loki came up beside them conjuring a sheild and managing to block Malekith's attack. "The dark elf wants to turn our universe into a giant ball of darkness for some Norn forsaken reason and from this spot he will be able to do it to every realm in the world tree."

"Yeah I say no to that. Jarvis scan this bastard's energy signature. How can I help?" Tony asked as Thor attacked Malekith again only to be knocked back again.

"Tower! Over there!" Thor yelled.

Tony looked back spotting Jane Foster and Erik Selvig in the tower. "On it." He flew off.

Loki hit Malekith again and Malekith tried to repel her but this attack was different, instead of attacking Malekith her sedir aimed at pulling the Aether from his body. Thor took the chance to hit Malekith with Mjolnir. This time the combination worked and Malekith was knocked back into a car, though he wasn't hurt much.

Tony flew to the tower and spotted Jane and Erik. "Hey! What are we doing here?"

Jane who was on the floor again trying to breathe, pushed herself up. "My equipment. I am going to create anomalies. Help Thor. I need to boost my signal."

Tony nodded. "Ok. What does the equipment look like? Jarvis take a scan and have Veronica replicate it and deploy light speed."

"The tripods. South corner. You'll find Darcy there." Jane replied "I'm going to go around."

Tony took off to find a tripod and Jane and Erik climbed down to get closer to the action. Thor hit Malekith with his lightning and Loki threw another wave of sedir at him but Malekith learned quickly and turned Loki's trick on her absorbing both her and Thor's sedir. Tony found the two people trying to hammer a stick in the ground and flew over to them. "Incoming!"

He drove the pod into the ground and Darcy cheered. She gave a thumbs up to Jane. Jarvis scanned the pod and set about replicating it. Jane rushed back to Erik and readied her scanner.

"Are you sure about this?" Erik asked. "Convergence will be in full effect in seven minutes"

"Good. That just means we have to keep Malekith busy for eight minutes." Jane replied. "Hold on to something."

Erik held onto a pillar as Jane turned the dial on her scanner. Some of Malekith's soldiers that were moving towards Loki disappeared midway. Everyone cheered.

"Heck yeah! That was awesome!" Tony cheered. "J where are we on those replications?"

" _ETA in four minutes sir."_

"Great. Well let's not waste daylight. Come on give me targets" Tony flew towards the soldiers taking out three more just as Jane turned the dial again and two more disappeared.

Thor rushed towards Malekith. Loki put her hands on the ground and ice formed on the surface capturing soldiers in its path and heading for Malekith's ship. Thor went to punch Malekith but he disappeared. Tony flew towards another soldier but got caught in a wave himself. Malekith reappeared and Thor swung Mjolnir to hit him. The force was so much that Loki's shields shuddered. Loki let her sedir flow freely and strengthened them again as the people drew back in fear. Tony appeared again and accidently hit Loki.

"Shit! Sorry!" He said as Loki was thrown a few feet away.

Loki rolled her eyes and stood back up. Malekith threw Thor into a nearby roof. He bounced off Loki's shield and flew back aiming at Malekith. They both disappeared along with several cars. Two planes flew overhead catching Loki's attention. They were aiming for Malekith's ship.

"Call them off! The gravitational fields are not in sync. They won't hit the target!" Loki yelled.

Tony flew towards the planes but they had already fired. As predicted the missles went off course one of them going through a portal and another blowing up on impact with Loki's shields that thankfully withstood the blast. Loki closed her eyes and tried to search for Thor's sedir. She looked up as Thor reappeared. Loki hunched and jumped up with enough force to catch the end of Thor's cape but unfortunately they got pulled into another portal and ended up on Svartalfheim again. Thor threw Mjolnir at Malekith but it disappeared into a portal. Loki threw a dagger at Malekith but Malekith attacked them both and threw them through a portal.

Thor and Loki ended up on the top of a glass building, sliding down helplessly as there was no place to grip. Loki felt air rushing past her as they freefalled and her eyes closed as she remembered falling through the void. She opened her eyes surprised when Thor caught and pulled her to him wrapping his arms and legs around her frame, holding out one hand for Mjolnir. Loki hid her face in Thor's neck and they fell but the fall was broken abruptly and Loki found herself in an underground tunnel with several humans, Thor below her, having turned to prevent Loki from hitting the ground first.

Loki got off Thor and they both stood up as a train stopped. It would appear they were at a trainstation under the ground. Thor sighed as the door of the train opened. "How do I get to Greenwich?" He asked a woman on the train.

"Uh...three stops from this train." The woman replied as several people pulled out their phones and took pictures.

Thor motioned to Loki and she stepped onto the train, standing beside the woman. Thor directed her to hold on to the railing above as the doors closed and the train moved forward. The woman beside her fell into her a little from the force and Loki glared at her.

"Sorry" The woman apologized hurriedly.

In Greenwich, Jane and Erik ran from a few dark elves and Tony struggled to hit Malekith. None of his weapons were doing anything and with the woman who'd been with Thor gone, the shields were dropping which meant soon there were going to be vulnerable people getting hurt.

"Jarvis the pods!" Tony yelled dodging an attack from Malekith.

" _Pods deployed sir. ETA 40 seconds"_

Finally! Tony retreated and went to find Jane and Erik. Jane made a few more soldiers disappear but was then overcome with coughs and vomited blood again.

"Shit! Foster you alright?" Tony asked worried.

Jane wiped her mouth. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine. Where's Thor and Vanya?"

"No idea. Jarvis replicated the pods. Where do you want them?" Tony asked.

Jane pointed at Malekith where a giant black and red cloud was forming. "There! Let's send this bastard to hell!"

"J you heard the lady. Aim for the cloud." Tony commanded.

Thor and Vanya came running just at that moment. Vanya's eyes glowed green and golden swirls formed around her.

" _Sir I am not able to get the pods through the clouds."_

"Fuck. Jarvis is not able to get the pods through. What's plan B?" Tony asked.

Erik shook his head. "It's too late. The convergence is at its peak."

"No it's not. Give the pods to me. Vanya can you handle it?" Thor asked.

"I-I can feel Yggdrasil. So much power.....we can make it through." Vanya replied a timber to her voice that made it echo.

Three pods drove into the ground beside Thor. He picked them up. He nodded to Tony. "If we don't make it out in a few mintues, you take them and you fly as far as you can."

Tony nodded. "You got it."

Vanya held her arms up and more golden energy flowed into her. She aimed it at the black cloud and the blast was powerful enough to clear a path for a few seconds. Thor and Vanya disappeard through it. Jane looked at her scanner. "Come on..." She whispered, hoping she was not about to lose two friends today.

Thor and Loki struggled through the cloud, barely able to see anything. Loki let his true form take over as the power of Yggdrasil flowed through him. "Malekith!" Thor yelled.

Malekith turned towards them. "You are two late. Darkness returns. Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"

"We've come to accept your surrender, monster." Loki replied.

Thor aimed a pod at Malekith and threw it. Malekith caught it looking at it in confusion. Jane turned the dial and Malekith's hand was torn off. Thor aimed the other pod and it was buried in Malekith's shoulder. This time his whole arm disappeared. Loki prepared himself.

"You think you can stop this?" Malekith taunted. "The Aether cannot be destroyed!"

"No." Thor accepted. "But you can"

This time Thor aimed for Malekith's heart and Loki threw the full force of his power at Malekith ripping the Aether from his body. Malekith screamed in agony. Thor summoned Mjolnir and ran towards Malekith nailing him to his ship with one huge swing. The force threw him back and he hit his head falling unconscious. Jane turned the dial on her scanner and Malekith disappeared in cloud of black dust. Loki reverted to her female form just as the cloud around them dispersed. She trapped the Aether in a special jar she had for precisely these kind of artefacts and sent it through a pocket dimension to be fetched later. She was exhausted beyond measure and fell to her knees falling unconcious beside Thor.

Jane ran to the square as the cloud cleared. Thor and Loki were both on the ground unconscious. Malekith's ship started to fall. Jane rushed towards them both. Tony flew over her and went to pick Vanya up but when he touched her he was thrown back as her sedir interpretted him as a threat. Jane not knowin what to do covered Thor and Loki as best as she could with her body. The ship fell but disappeared through a portal as Erik used the last of the pods banking on the left over energy from the Convergence.

Tony's helmet retracted and he came over again, just as Thor opened his eyes. "Hey there you are Point Break! J scan the lady. How's she doing?"

Thor was on his elbows leaning over her. "Vanya? Vanya?"

Vanya opened her eyes a sliver and Jane grinned practically falling on top of her to hug her. "Oof! Thor control your pet!" Vanya complained. But Jane just kept hugging her till she gave in and hugged back. Thor moved to hug her too but backed away when a dagger suddenly appeared in Vanya's hand.

"Alright. Alright. I'm not hugging you. Please don't stab me again." Thor placated her.

Tony snorted. "Well this is not something you see everyday. I say we get drunk and not wake up for a week."

Thor laid back down. "Yes. I second that thought."

"Me three." Darcy piped up.

"I won't be averse to a drink" Ian agreed.

Jane let go of Vanya. "Me four." she said.

Vanya got up. "Count me out. I shall be taking your leave now, Thor, humans I do not care about." She said sarcastically and turned to leave only to wobble and have Tony catch her.

"Yeah..I think you need to lie down first. I'm Tony Stark by the way. Nice to meet you." Tony smiled at her.

Vanya shrugged out of Tony's grip. "I am fine. I've seen worse. It's just a little exhaustion."

Thor got up. "Vanya...."

"NO. You asked me to help you so I helped you. I figured out what is wrong with Jane and told you how to fix it. I helped you defeat Malekith. Now I am leaving and you have no right to stop me." Vanya argued.

Thor fell silent, nodding. Vanya nodded and turned to leave but had to take a step back as the Bifrost hit the ground. Tony aimed his repulsor at the column of light but lowered it when Thor came beside him. The light disappeared and there in the middle of the mark left by the Bifrost stood...Heimdall.

TBC.....


	3. Chapter 3

** Greenwich, London, Earth **

Loki grit her teeth as Heimdall appeared in the middle of the square they were in. Dammit! She should have left Thor and his pet near that abandoned place. She could have been sipping sweet wine in Alfheim right now instead she was sure to see the inside of a cell again. Damn her foolishness! Loki still tried to leave but Thor wrapped an arm around her waist and stopped her. Then Jane Foster came to stand on her other side and leaned against her so Loki was stuck between them.

Heimdall only raised one eyebrow at her, then ignored her completely in favor of Thor. "Thor. I see that you have succeeded in defeating Malekith. I would congratulate you but instead I come with grave news. Odin has succumbed to Odinsleep. The council rules in his stead for now and requests that you return immediately."

"Father succumbed to Odinsleep. How?! He was fine when I left!" Thor asked concerned.

Heimdall sighed. "He is old. He cannot sustain himself for long these days and the last few days with Queen Frigga dying...it became too much for him. You need to return. Your people need you."

Thor bit his lip. "Jane is...we removed the Aether from her body but she is...she is not well yet. I am not leaving her here."

Heimdall shrugged. "With King Odin in Odinsleep you are the King essentially. Who am I to argue against the King? The council only wishes for your presence in Asgard. Whoever you bring with you or do not bring with you is your desire."

Thor perked up at that and looked at Jane. "Yeah fine but I need to pack and make some arrangements first." Jane pointed out.

"Perhaps Lady Vanya can stay with you till you are ready to leave. It is imperative that I take Thor with me now." Heimdall suggested.

Loki glared at Heimdall. She knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to trap Loki. Well it was not going to work as soon as Thor left Loki would drop Jane at her house and leave. Even Heimdall could not see Loki if she truly desired it. Now Thor was looking at her with big round eyes.

"Ugh! Fine. Go prance for the dusty old men. I'll take care of Jane Foster" Loki huffed.

Thor grinned. "Thank you Vanya! Jane I will be back shortly. Anthony thank you so much for all your help. I will take a rain check for that drink as the humans say."

Tony smiled at him. "Cool. Knock em dead Point Break. We got it covered down here."

Thor nodded and stepped into the circle with Heimdall. The Bifrost opened and carried them away. Jane turned to Loki to say something but swayed instead. Loki caught her, frowning at her.

"You have absorbed more sedir. I will have to drain it again." Loki said.

"Yeah. I think it's best if you guys leave before the police show up. Shield won't be far behind and them and aliens don't mix well. Even the friendly ones. I'll handle them" Tony offered.

Loki took it. She led Jane to her car and took the keys. She'd seen Jane drive and Loki was a quick learner. Darcy, Erik and Ian came running to them before Loki could drive away.

"Wait! We're gonna go back to my place. Me and Ian I mean and Erik's gonna go back to the University now. You sure you're ok with taking care of Jane?" Darcy asked.

Loki nodded curtly. "I live on a different realm, I'm not an invalid. I can take care of her for a few hours. Now I would very much like to leave. Goodbye."

Loki drove them away and to Jane's apartment. She was tired too after all. Once inside, Loki put a shield around the rooms and reverted to his male form. He sat heavily on the sofa and Jane sat beside him leaning against him.

"There's a spare room if you want to sleep. I have to pack but like I'll do it in an hour. Too tired." Jane mumbled.

Loki stared at the top of her head. He did not want to go to some room. Actually he did not want to be alone but he was not going to admit it out loud.

"I doubt your pathetic accommodation will suit me. I am fine here. I am not tired. You sleep if you want to" Loki grouched.

Jane pulled her feet on the sofa and laid her head on Loki's lap. "Yeah...I don't want to be alone either. It's cool. We can just nap here."

Loki stiffened. "It's not.... I'm not afraid of being alone. I am not a child!"

Jane winced. "Dude don't shout please and I was talking about me not you. If you don't want to sleep don't just let me sleep please."

Loki was tempted to push Jane off his lap just to be contrary but while he was contemplating whether that was going too far or not, Jane fell asleep. Loki frowned as she snored a little. He moved her head to a better position and then slowly slid down so he could lean his head on the backrest more comfortably. Loki had every intention of plotting his next move. He really did but he found his thoughts drifting and before he knew it, he was snoring away too.

** Council Room, Royal Palace of Asgard. **

The council members had been over the moon when Thor returned, however they were being stubborn now when Thor expressed his desire to have Loki and Jane on Asgard.

"My Prince I understand your bond with Prince Loki but he cannot be trusted!"

"Surely you do not mean to bring humans into Asgard. They have no place here!"

"It's the human's own fault she is injured. I don't see why we have to help her"

"Isn't Prince Loki of Jotunheim? We understand why you would wish to pardon him but perhaps it is better if he go there instead of staying here."

Thor growled at that. Thunder rumbled loudly and the walls shook making the council fall silent. "Jane did not absorb the Aether for greed or to seek power. It was an accident. One that would not have occurred if my grandfather had destroyed it properly like our tales say he did. Loki risked his life not once but twice to save me. It is not his fault that father stole him from his realm and raised him as my brother. He did not make that choice so why should he suffer for it? You will accept their presence or you can lose mine as well. The choice is yours."

The council members hurried to plead Thor to stay.

"My Prince we did not mean to disrespect you or Prince Loki or the human"

"No My Prince. You cannot leave Asgard without a ruler! Please you must stay!"

"I suppose it cannot hurt to let the human stay as long as she is unwell and Prince Loki is one of us"

"I will decide how long Jane and Loki stay on Asgard." Thor said firmly. "The job of this council is to advise me on the matters of the state. Loki and Jane do not fall under those. They are my personal affair and you will not tell me how to handle my relationships. Is that understood?"

There were several nods and words of agreement. Thor knew the argument was going to come up again and of course if his father woke up tomorrow, Jane would be back on Midgard and Loki might have to run but for today Thor had his desire. Now all he had to do was convince Loki to stay.

"I shall fetch Jane and Loki and deposit them both with Lady Eir. Then I shall be back. I want a report of all the damage done during Malekith's attack and the following convergence. We have much to do." Thor said standing up.

The council members nodded in agreement and bowed as he left. Thor flew to the Bifrost. Heimdall was smiling, looking at the realms.

"Heimdall. How fare the realms?" Thor asked

Heimdall looked at him with a flat stare. "Jane and Loki are asleep on top of each other. They haven't done one inch of the packing Jane Foster was supposed to be doing."

"Loki fell asleep without a bed? He must be really tired then. He usually complains that only I am stupid enough to sleep anywhere. " Thor grinned.

Heimdall chuckled. "Battle makes one tired enough I suppose. I see you put the council in their place. Shall I send you to Midgard now then?"

Thor sighed. "Heimdall....be honest with me. Do you think this is a good idea? Having Loki and Jane here I mean?"

Heimdall looked him up and down. "I do not know if it is a good idea. All I know is that you are but a shadow in their absence. I know how much they mean to you. It is as you told the council your personal relations are your prerogative no one else's"

Thor nodded. "I love Jane. I know she is human and I know her life is only a fraction of mine but I find I do not care. Even if for a fraction, I want her by my side and Loki....Loki is my brother and my best friend. I cannot imagine Asgard without him. I cannot see myself rule without his wit to aid me. It was my doing Heimdall. I pushed him so much, he broke. Everything that followed, everything that happened after, it was my fault. If I had only listened...I want to set it right."

"Well then for that you will need to get them both here. To Midgard?" Heimdall asked gripping Hofund

Thor smiled at his friend and nodded. "To Midgard."

Heimdall turned Hofund and the Bifrost activated, carrying Thor to the two people he loved most in the world.

** Jane Foster's Apartment, London, Earth **

Loki was sleeping soundly when a sudden motion rocked the apartment. He was up immediately. Daggers out and shielding Jane automatically, till he saw that it was only Thor.

"Easy Loki. It's just me." Thor placated.

Loki put his daggers away and turned to look at Jane who was still snoring away. Loki frowned. The human had no sense of self preservation. Loki stretched, he felt a bit better now, not as much as he would like to but enough to find some secret path and get off this realm.

He turned to leave but Thor caught his arm. The oaf looked like a kicked kitten. "Don't... don't leave.....father is....father is in Odinsleep and I've convinced the council of granting you a pardon. I cannot reinstate your seat on the council but you'd be free. You could....stay...."

Loki sighed. "Thor even if I stay....what about when Odin wakes up. You say you cannot reinstate my seat...what would I do on Asgard then? Take care of the gardens? Serve the food? Count the pillars? I will the joke of the realm and I've had enough of being the jester for a lifetime. You have Jane and your friends and Heimdall and the council. You don't need me."

Thor refused to let go of Loki. "That's not true. You're still part of the Royal Family. You are still a Prince of Asgard. You would retain all the power that comes with those titles."

Loki snorted. "I am the Prince of only one realm, Jotunheim and the last I recall princes of other realms cannot give orders on Asgard. You promised you would let me leave."

Thor was going to argue more but Jane groaned from the sofa and sat up rubbing her eyes. "Why are you two always fighting?" She complained.

Loki looked at her baffled. "Oh so now you're awake! Unbelievable!"

Jane frowned at him, then clutched her stomach. "I don't...I don't feel so good..."

Thor was immediately kneeling beside her. "Loki?" Loki knelt beside Jane as well and carefully examined her. She had absorbed more sedir during her sleep. Loki drew it out and absorbed it into himself. He needed the energy anyways.

Thor looked at Jane worried. "We need to leave..." Then he looked at Loki. "Please Loki. At least stay until Jane is well enough. Lady Eir would need help and you are the only one who knows everything mother did."

Loki bit his lip. He really should leave now. Cut his losses while he still could. Asgard was a lost cause for Loki. The people were never going to accept him. He would never be able to dethrone Thor, he should leave. But he was tired, his sedir drained and he did not have any plan. Odin would likely sleep for a few days. Loki could take the opportunity to recuperate and form a plan. He might even convince Heimdall to drop him off somewhere and save the bother of sneaking out. And well if he helped Jane Foster along the way then it would only earn Thor's favor. Something Loki could use at a later date.

"Fine. Just until things are sorted a bit more. But if I sense Odin is about to awaken I will leave." Loki warned.

Thor nodded. "Yes of course. I was going to help you leave in the event that father awakens anyways. I did promise you are free. I intend to keep it."

Loki nodded satisfied. "Good. Well then let's go shall we. I've had enough of this realm."

"No I still need to pack and apply for leave and cancel my appointments." Jane insisted. "If I just disappear I would be declared as missing. I don't want that. Just give me a few minutes."

Loki groaned. "Where are your things? I'll just store them in my pocket dimension and you can call whoever it is you need to call. It will be faster that way."

"No thank you. I am going to get my bags and pack. If you want to help maybe help clean all these papers up or something otherwise you wait here, I'll be right back." Jane replied, walking away before Loki could respond.

"I am not your maid! Clean your own damn papers!" Loki said at her back, then crossed his arms and pouted at Thor.

Thor shrugged. "You could help. It would be faster."

Loki sniffed and turned his head away. Thor shook his head at him, then picked up the papers spread all over and stacked them on top of each other. Jane hurried to pack her bags, randomly stuffing clothes into it. She was positive the Asgardians were going to force her into more armored dresses so she made sure to pack all her pajamas and pants. She sent an email to the University filing for emergency leave due to health reasons and looped Erik in so he could handle things. She sent another email to Darcy making sure to attach the letter of recommendation she'd typed a few weeks ago for her. That way Darcy's internship could be declared completed smoothly. She knew her laptop and phone were going to stop working but she packed them anyways because they had important information that she did not want to lose. She made sure she had all her ids and her passport as those were too valuable to be left around and stowed all the cash she had in one corner of her bag. Jane did one last round of her room, packing her toiletries not sure what alternatives Asgard had to those and headed out. Thor was trying to balance all the papers on top of each other and Loki was looking at him like he was an idiot. To be honest most of the time Loki looked at Thor like he was an idiot.

"Ok I'm all done. Thor just stuff the papers in the cupboard over there. Darcy has a spare key. She and Erik can take care of those. Do we need to go on the roof or something?" Jane asked.

Thor shook his head, putting all the papers away. "No. The balcony is wide enough. Is that everything? It's alright if it isn't we can send somebody later to fetch the rest."

"Yeah it's everything. I think most of the electronics won't work on Asgard anyways so there's little point in taking them and the furniture came with the house. The lease is till the end of the year and paid for. Erik and Darcy can handle the rest." Jane explained.

"Great. Lovely. Now can we please go?" Loki asked.

Thor nodded. They all went to the balcony and Jane held out her bag to Loki and looked at him expectantly. "What? I'm not holding it for you. I'm not your chauffeur!" Loki exclaimed.

"Well I have to hold on to Thor because I can't really handle the Bifrost and it's not like you're holding anything in your hand so...." Jane trailed off.

Loki looked at Jane incredulously while Thor fought not to laugh. Loki huffed and took Jane's bag from her hand, looking miffed. Jane smiled at him brightly and got up on her toes to kiss Loki's cheek. "Thanks Loki!"

Loki blushed despite himself and grumbled under his breath about stupid humans. Jane ignored him and walked up to Thor, who wrapped his arms around her tightly. Loki stood closer to them, still grumbling but Thor paid him no mind. Heimdall who had been watching opened the Bifrost and they were carried to Asgard. On Asgard Heimdall smiled at Jane and surprisingly even at Loki who frowned at him. But their attention was diverted when they saw Sif approach.

When she saw Loki, she sneered at him. "What are you doing here?"

Loki smiled broadly at her. "Haven't you heard? I am fully pardoned and reinstated as Prince of Asgard. Isn't that lovely? The new king wanted me to stay a while"

Sif looked at Thor in disbelief. "Thor? He's lying isn't it? You can't just pardon all his crimes!"

Thor frowned. "Of course I can. I am King. I can pardon a crime if I see it fit. Loki went above and beyond to help us defeat Malekith. Asgard and the Nine Realms are standing today because of his efforts. The very least that can be done in return is to pardon past crimes. Besides, he's only here temporarily, to help Jane. I don't see what the problem is."

It was only when Thor mentioned Jane that Sif realized the woman was with him too. Sif frowned at her. "Why what's wrong with her? I thought the whole problem was that the Aether was in her body?"

"It was and we did remove the Aether but it had stayed in Jane's body for too long. She needs to see Lady Eir and I wanted her to stay here anyways." Thor explained. "Where are Fandral and Volstagg? Did Hogun return from Vanaheim yet?"

Sif didn't look particularly happy with the news that Jane was gong to be on Asgard for the foreseeable future. "They're at the inn. Celebrating. I came to get you so we could have a drink together."

"I'd love to but I need to get Jane settled and I also need to talk to the council. Perhaps tomorrow? Jane should feel better by then. I want to show her around." Thor said smiling down at Jane more than looking at Sif.

Sif had no choice but to nod. "Yeah...sure...."

Thor smiled at her. "Perfect. Come Jane, let's go set your things in a room and then visit Lady Eir. I hope she has not retired for the day..."

Thor walked away with Jane in tow. Loki didn't even bother to hide his smile as he passed Sif, following after them. Sif grit her teeth in frustration. Heimdall looked at her with one eyebrow raised so she controlled her expression, shaking her head and leaving too. The walk back to the palace was a bit slow as Jane was still tired and the people kept staring at them but they made it in one piece. Inside the palace Thor hesitated.

"Uh...do you...uh do you mind sharing my room....or do you want a separate room...?" Thor asked Jane, realizing they'd never talked about it.

Jane bit her lip. "I don't know....I mean....we never talked about it....I don't..."

"Ugh! Spare me!" Loki exclaimed suddenly from beside them. He shoved Jane's bag at Thor. "Just clear out your personal dining room and turn it into a room for Jane, moron. That way she would be in your living space but have her own personal space as well. Now if you lot don't mind, I am hungry and tired and sick of your presence. I am going to my room."

Loki stomped off without waiting for a response. "Does he still even have a room?" Jane asked.

Thor nodded. "Oh yes. Mother refused to let father clear out Loki's old room. So it's still there. Is that alright? What Loki suggested?"

Jane thought about it. "I was actually going to say I don't mind sharing. But if that's not what you want...."

Thor shook his head. "No! No. I...I don't mind....but the idea of a spare room that you could use is not so bad either. You could use it for research...if that's alright."

Jane smiled. "Yeah. That's a great idea. I could turn it into my work room. Shall we?"

"Yes. Of course. This way." Thor led Jane to his personal living quarters. They were actually a set of rooms, including a personal study and living room along with the aforementioned dining room and of course Thor's bedroom. Thor set Jane's bag beside his bed for now and spread his arms. "Well this is it. The healing rooms are on the other side as you know. Do you want to eat something? I can clear out the dining room tomorrow morning."

"Yeah I am hungry too. I could eat. Where the bathroom? I want to change." Jane asked.

Thor led her to the bathing chambers which had a bathtub so big it was more a mini pool. He explained how the water flowed and pointed at the various soaps and lotions and oils and brought fresh towels for Jane and left her to it. Jane soaked in the tub, sighing as her sore muscles relaxed. The day had been completely crazy. She would never have imagined that Loki of all people would be sort of nice. He was still extremely rude but Jane got the impression it was just a mask. After all despite grumbling and protesting he did help her and Thor. Jane didn't know what to make of him but there was definitely more to him than just a wannabe villain.

She sighed and got out before she fell asleep right there in the tub. Jane pulled on her fluffiest pair of pajamas which had small mickey mouse images all over it. Not exactly sexy but she didn't care at the moment. She dried her hair with a towel since there were no hair dryers around and went to the dining room. Thor had dressed down into a sleeveless tunic, that made his muscles bulge and Jane swallowed hurrying to sit down beside him. There was a lot of food on the table, most of it familiar but some of it was new to her. Jane picked a bread and poured some curry that looked like chicken to her and took a bite. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in" Thor called. It was Loki, wearing a green tunic that looked like it was made of cashmere. His hair was also wet and curling. He huffed and sat at the dining table on Thor's other side.

"All my things are dusty. The bed's fine but I'm not eating there." He said as explanation.

"I'll instruct the servants to clean it up tomorrow morning." Thor reassured.

Loki shrugged, "I'll be recovered by then. I'll do it on my own. Why isn't there any fish in here?"

"I didn't know you were coming here to eat! So I ordered what I liked. Jane doesn't mind. Do you Jane?" Thor asked.

Jane who had discovered she was ravenous nodded, chewing on her chicken. "Yeah...this is really good."

Loki rolled his eyes, then stole Thor's pudding, even though there were plenty of those on the table. Thor completely used to this behavior simply picked another for himself. They ate in silence, Jane finished a lot sooner than Thor and Loki and dozed while Thor and Loki bickered over something or the other. Eventually Loki couldn't stop yawning and got up to go and sleep in his own room. Servants came and cleared the table. Thor looked at Jane fondly, then picked her up and took her to bed. The last thing Jane saw was Thor blowing out the candles and promising to return a bit later. She thought she also saw a green butterfly flutter out of their room but it could have been her imagination. She closed her eyes snuggled into the covers and went to sleep.

TBC....


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning Thor opened his eyes to find Jane beside him. He smiled sleepily and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her closer. Thor knew he should not think like this but he was glad Odin was unconscious. It seemed without Odin, the council didn't much mind Loki or Jane's presence as long as it did not hamper Thor's ability to work. Jane turned in Thor's arms and buried her head in his shoulder, kissing his neck. Heat pooled low in Thor's stomach.

"Mornin" She said, her voice thick with sleep.

Thor brushed a thumb on the sliver of skin that was peeking where Jane's shirt had ridden up during sleep. Jane shivered. Thor let his hand slide up to stroke her back through the shirt. "Good morning." He replied, turning Jane's face towards him and kissing her. Jane moaned and opened her mouth, letting Thor in. They kissed for a long moment and Jane pressed her chest to Thor's, wrapping one leg around his hip. Thor kissed down her neck and squeezed her ass, turning them so Jane was straddling him now. He sat up, keeping her in his lap and pulled his tunic off and kissed her again. Jane drug her nails across Thor's back making him moan. Thor slid his hands under her shirt and pulled it up and over her head discarding it somewhere, then he was kissing her again, one large hand covering her breast and pinching her nipple.

Jane could feel Thor's erection and she wanted him inside her so badly. "Off. Come on take these off." She said trying to figure out how Asgardian trousers worked. Thor stopped kissing down her shoulder and looked at her. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Jane nodded. "Yeah...I'm sure." She kissed Thor again, pushing him to lie down. She kissed down his chest, biting at his nipples and tracing them with her tongue. Thor bucked under her touch and Jane marveled at having him at her mercy. Lightning sparked at Thor's fingertips and Jane moaned when he ran them over her back. But then Jane felt a strange sensation, like her skin was absorbing something. She felt pain and reflexively drew away from Thor's touch. Thor sat up immediately as Jane's back arched, his lightning absorbed into her weak sedir channels overwhelming them.

"Jane!" Thor tried to grab her but his touch seemed to hurt her. Jane curled in on herself. Thor got off the bed frantic. "Loki! Loki!" Thor rushed out to his living room just as Loki came into his room.

"What?! I was coming to ask if you have taken Jane to Lady Eir yet. Why are you yelling?" Loki asked

"Jane...she....I....I don't know....I was....my lightning..." Thor babbled.

Seeing as Thor was useless at the moment, Loki shoved him aside and headed for the bedroom. Jane Foster was on the bed curled in on herself, from the way clothes were all over the place, Loki didn't have to guess what she and Thor had been doing. He hesitated for a moment but then knelt beside Jane, letting his Jotun form take over at his fingertips. Lightning burned like fire and his touch was cool which soothed Jane. Loki drew out the sedir Jane had accidentally absorbed from Thor, gently. Thor's power was destructive on the best of days and right now Jane was not strong enough to withstand it. Loki dispersed the small ball of lightning in his hands. Jane slowly uncurled and turned blinking up at Loki, confused. Loki looked at her with wide eyes, unable to help when his gaze traveled lower. He realized what he was doing and averted his eyes and stood up, turning to face Thor instead. Jane noticed she wasn't wearing a shirt and pulled the sheets around her shoulders.

"I didn't mean to hurt her." Thor mumbled.

Loki shook his head. "Well obviously. Jane's sedir channels are not well formed Thor. They absorb anything and everything and you do not have the finesse to keep proper control of your powers so maybe keep it in your pants for a few days. You're fortunate I was nearby otherwise Jane could have been seriously hurt. I told you handling the sedir channels is delicate work. Did it go over your stupid head? Idiot." Loki scolded.

"Hey it wasn't all him. It was an accident. Stop yelling at him." Jane said from the bed.

Loki turned on his heels and narrowed his eyes at her. "Whatever. Just be more careful. I am going to consult with Lady Eir now. Be there...whenever"

Loki pushed past Thor and headed for the healing chambers. He needed to speak to Lady Eir. His own sedir needed repair and Loki kept using it trying to keep Jane Foster from killing herself. He also had to figure out where he was going to go once Odin woke up. He needed money, just enough to start a small trade. He also needed to figure out a new identity. Just for a few centuries, till the gossip that followed his name had died down. He had much to do, he couldn't waste his time trying to explain safe sex to his idiotic brother.

"What's with the frown Loki? I thought you'd be over the moon now that you're free to harass Thor again." Fandral commented from one corner where he'd been leaning against a pillar.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I have things to do Fandral so either get to the point or fuck off!"

Fandral held his hands up in surrender. "Woah! Easy there. I was just asking. Actually I'm surprised you're still here. Would've thought you'd be gone by now and I'd have comfort our poor broken prince."

Loki shook his head, "I'm sorry to say Jane Foster has replaced you. You're going to have to find some other gullible idiot who wears his heart on his sleeve."

Fandral shrugged. "Eh. It's fine. I don't want to be that close to Thor. No offense but I don't swing that way. You didn't answer the question. Why're you still hanging around? I expected you to be sipping wine somewhere in Alfheim. Doesn't that one Lord what's his name....Aldon take a fancy to you? Bet he'd love to have you around."

Loki looked at Fandral, amused. "Ah..I wouldn't know I was too busy fending off his wife. You seem an awful lot interested in my love life. Has Sif been spewing steam again?"

Fandral chuckled but he looked actually worried. "You have no idea. It's not just you either. She doesn't like Lady Jane all that much either. How long is she staying here again?"

Loki looked at Fandral. "You should try to talk some sense into your friend, Fandral. I don't think Lady Jane is going away anytime soon. As a matter of fact I would suggest Sif get used to idea that she will only ever be Thor's friend. He doesn't love her like that Fandral."

Fandral nodded, like he'd expected as much. "I know. I can see it. I can hear it in Thor's voice, just how much he loves Jane Foster. But Sif....I don't know who put this idea in her head that all she needs is time and Thor will love her like she loves him. I'm trying but really if there's anyone Sif's bound to listen to it's Hogun and he's still on Vanaheim. I tried to explain it to Volstagg but he just thinks Sif will get over it eventually."

Loki shook his head. As far as he knew Sif, she was not going to just get over it. "Try harder then. For Sif's own good. She will not win this war. There are some battles that you just cannot win."

Fandral nodded. "Yeah....maybe she'll listen if I explain more patiently. You know it's not all that bad to have you back Loki. Did you know all Thor did for the last two-three years is talk about how much he missed you? Well you and Jane Foster and sometimes his other Midgardian friends. He even tried to sneak in the dungeon once when you were first sentenced. King Odin caught him and then he was banned from the dungeons. We only managed to sneak in a second time because Heimdall helped us. I'll be seeing you around."

Fandral pat Loki's back and left. Loki blinked. He didn't know Thor had tried to sneak into the dungeons to speak to him. He assumed Thor didn't care when the days passed and the only company he had was the shadow of his mother. Loki shook his head and made his way to the healing rooms. He could think about Thor and his strange behavior later.

Lady Eir smiled when she saw him. "Prince Loki. Come in! Come in! How have you been? I heard you were in a battle with King Thor recently. Let me have a look at you."

Loki smiled easily as Eir led him to the soul forge and examined him. "Tch...tch...you have overexerted your sedir. You need to give it time to repair and heal. You must not keep using it." Eir chided.

Loki sighed getting up. "I know Lady Eir. I had no choice. Thor and I managed to trick Malekith into pulling the Aether from Jane Foster's body but it would seem that while it was in her body it tried to create sedir channels. A process that was abruptly halted when the Aether was pulled out. Now she has weak sedir channels, that keeping trying to pull sedir, that her body is not strong enough to handle. I have to constantly drain the excess from her, hence my not being able to heal properly." Loki explained.

Eir frowned. "That is concerning indeed. If we do not strengthen or close Lady Jane's sedir channels soon she will perish. The unwanted sedir will eventually start attacking her rather than trying to acclimate to her. Where is she? I must examine her myself."

"I told that Oaf to bring her here first thing in the morning but instead the buffoon was trying to satiate his sexual appetite. Idiot!" Loki grouched.

Eir smacked his shoulder. "Loki! Don't speak about your brother like that! You know Thor is also the God of Fertility. It is his nature. Perhaps it is not good to move Lady Jane around so much. Come let us go to them instead and you can tell me how you think we should handle Lady Jane's situation. I rather like the girl."

"Yes at least she's capable of stringing two sentences together without giggling. I swore to stab Thor if he decided to take another empty headed flossy." Loki huffed.

Eir shook her head and took Loki's arm. "You are never going to find someone for yourself if you keep talking like that young man. Come along then, daylight is burning and we have much to do. You were telling me what plan you have concocted for Lady Jane."

Loki pouted. "It's just an idea at the moment. You make sound like some plot hatching trader." Eir only smiled at Loki. He pouted harder. "Fine. I was thinking...we should strengthen Jane's sedir channels rather than closing them. I mean...it's just...she clearly has potential...it seems a waste to not explore it."

Eir nodded. "Yes and with better sedir channels Lady Jane might prolong her life to several centuries instead of decades. Your brother might have many more years with her. It's sweet of you to be worried about him Loki."

Loki blushed. "It's not...that's just a theory...that's not why I..."

Eir stopped in front of Thor's door and turned to face Loki, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I know many on Asgard say you have no heart. I also know that it could not be farther from the truth. Even at your worst you have always cared for your brother. It's alright to let people see your goodness sometimes Loki. We'll do our best yes?"

Loki nodded. Eir smiled at him then knocked on Thor's door. "Come in" Jane's voice came from inside. Eir and Loki went in and saw Thor and Jane eating breakfast. Well Thor was eating Jane appeared as if she had already eaten.

"Lafy Rir! Ve werf jus comin to seef youv" Thor spoke with his mouth full.

Loki scrunched his nose in disgust. "At least chew before you speak oaf! Honestly! How are you the king of this realm?!"

Thor swallowed. "I was born first." Loki looked like he was about to stab Thor so he hurried to pull out a chair for Eir. "Lady Eir! Please sit. Have something. You remember Jane don't you?"

Eir smiled at Jane. "Of course. I saw her just yesterday Thor. Lady Jane it is good to have you back though I wish it was under better circumstances. How are you feeling today? Loki told me there was an...incident."

Thor looked mortified and even Jane blushed but kept her composure. "Yeah....I feel a little nauseous and I usually love eggs but today I really wanted something sweet. I also feel tired though I slept through the night yesterday. I haven't had any episode of coughing blood though. I had a lot of those yesterday."

Eir nodded. "Good. It means your internal organs have healed somewhat. You crave sweet because with sedir your body needs more energy. Any mage or witch would crave sugar, lot of it as it is the most pure form of energy when it comes to food. You might experience more change in taste as your sedir channels adjust. I would like to study your sedir channels now to see what can be done. We have two options, we can close them completely or we can build them up, strengthen them. Loki thinks we should strengthen them, sedir is an advantage you can use in the foreseeable future. But the final choice is yours."

Jane contemplated it. "What are the side effects of strengthening my sedir channels as you say? Would I gain powers like Thor and Loki? What kind of effect would it have on my biology? I mean in a way by opening these channels the Aether attempted to rewrite my DNA right? So if we move forward in that direction we would actually be completing the process right?"

Eir was impressed with how fast Jane understood things. Loki was right she was a smart one. Eir nodded. "Yes. That is correct to some extent. The Aether did attempt to rewrite your DNA is it? but it more tried to add to it than rewrite it completely. So if you have good eyesight, when the Aether opened a sedir channel it would become great eyesight. In a way it is more enhancing things that are already there. Your power might end up being something as simple as the ability to learn things faster than others or it could be more elaborate like Thor and Loki. I cannot predict that until we are further into the process."

"But why are we not simply closing the sedir channels? Jane would go back to normal and would not have to worry about powers or anything else." Thor pointed out.

"You said it would enhance traits in my biology right? So I would live longer than a normal human won't I? That's why you want to try and keep the sedir channels open." Jane realized.

Jane looked at Loki. It had been his idea. He wanted Jane to be around longer, for Thor's sake no doubt but it surprised Jane that Loki cared this much. Thor blinked and looked from Jane to Eir to Loki and to Jane again. The idea was tempting. The idea was very tempting. But he couldn't force it on Jane. He couldn't expect her to prolong her life just for Thor's sake.

Thor shook his head. "No...I don't want to put Jane through the pain of changing herself like this. You close these sedir channels so she is well again."

Loki raised one eyebrow at Thor. "Well thank you for that input but nobody asked you. The decision is Jane's not yours. She should know her options so she can make a choice she wants."

Thor nodded and accepted that and turned to Jane. "I do not want you to make this choice because of me. I don't want you to think I would not support you if you chose otherwise." Thor insisted.

Jane bit her lip. She knew it was not good to make life altering decisions when she was emotional. She needed time. She had to think. "Can I....can I think about this? We have time don't we? I feel better today....Can I have some time to think about this?"

Eir nodded. "Of course Lady Jane. Big decisions must not be taken lightly. You will need to drain the excess sedir from your body at least twice a day. Prince Loki can help you with that and I still want to take scans of your sedir channels but we can do that at a later time too. Let me know what you decide. Have a good day Your Grace, Prince Loki."

Eir got up and left. Loki sighed. He wanted to go around the city but he already felt like sleeping the day away. Well that won't do. Loki was about to get up when Thor cleared his throat. Loki looked at him suspiciously. "What?"

Thor clenched and unclenched his fists. "Well....I have to go see the council and then there were some trade agreements I need to go through.....and Jane is still new to Asgard.... she doesn't know her way around all that much....so I was wondering....."

"You were wondering which servant would be best to shadow her? I suggest Ella. Now I am leaving." Loki tried to make a run for it but Thor caught his arm. Bastard.

"Lo please....I don't want to leave Jane in the care of some servant. Please? You can do whatever you want just take her with you." Thor pleaded.

"Excuse me?" Jane interrupted. "Take me? I can take care of myself. I don't need Loki to stalk me."

Loki could have kissed the woman. "Yes! See! She can take care of herself. How dare you suggest otherwise?! Now goodbye!" Loki turned into a raven and flew out the window before Thor could say another word.

Jane blinked in surprise. "Woah! How did he do that? You know I'm not sure if I should be happy that he supported me or mad that he turned himself into a bird just to get away from me."

Thor sighed. "I would not take it personally. He's being a bit over dramatic"

Jane smacked Thor's arm. "Were you trying to pass me off like a kid? I can handle myself."

Thor pouted and rubbed his arm. "I just wanted you to have some company. I'll be gone the whole morning."

Jane hunched. "Oh. Well that's fine Thor. You have a library here right? I'll do some reading. I do feel tired you know."

"Are you sure?" Thor asked.

Jane nodded getting up and kissing him. "Yeah. I'll read some books, look around the gardens. I'll be fine. We can have lunch together right?"

"Yes of course. I'll see you at lunch then." Thor said getting and kissing Jane again before leaving.

Jane sighed. At least she'd avoided being put into a dress today. The servants had been all for it but Jane told them no. For some reason the servants were being nicer to her now than yesterday. Jane got up and decided to peruse Thor's personal library. She quickly discovered that a lot of the books were in languages other than English. Jane could only understand the pictures in them not the actual words. She put them back and decided to go to the gardens.

As she walked through the palace the guards bowed to her. Jane did her best to smile at them which seemed to surprise some of them. Finally Jane spotted an entrance that seemed to lead to a garden. She walked up to it and stepped into the garden.

There were a lot of rose bushes in the garden. Jane looked amused at one row that was a bit crooked than the rest and full of all kinds of roses unlike the other rows that were neat and properly organized. It was like a child had planted these roses.

Jane studied some of the other plants, finding the similarities and differences they had with Earth plants fascinating. She went further into the garden and stopped. There was a small pool in the garden and Loki was sitting beside it. He sat still like a statue staring off in the distance. Tears flowed down his cheeks but he didn't seem to notice them.

Jane shuffled on her feet and wondered what to do. She knew Loki was not just going to accept comfort. So Jane made a point to make a lot of noise and looked at some other plants. Loki poked his head from the pool area and frowned when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Stalking you." Jane replied.

Loki actually laughed at that. "Well you are a terrible stalker. I heard you miles away. The oaf is gone then?"

Jane nodded. "Yeah. He said he'd be back for lunch. I feel like one of those women who sit at home and wait for their husbands to come back. It's totally clashing with my badass scientist image."

Loki came to sit beside her. "Well you could always throw a tantrum and imply Thor loves his work more. The vase beside Thor's bed is perfect for being thrown dramatically. I'd love to see that oaf's face smash into it."

Jane giggled. "Let's wait a day or two before throwing dramatic tantrums. It's hard to resist Thor's puppy dog eyes. I'm not even sure how he does it. He looks like brick house."

Loki sighed. "It's a mystery. Didn't find any books to your liking?"

"I did actually but they were all in a language I can't understand so. If you have translated versions of those, I'd love to read them." Jane replied.

"I can do better than that." Loki said, then he put his palm flat on Jane's forehead.

Jane felt like someone was dumping words into her mind. It was like a whole chunk of knowledge was downloaded into her brain and then stored away immediately. Jane rubbed her head as it hurt a bit. Loki put an arm around her shoulders and gently rubbed her temples with cool fingertips. Jane sighed happily at that.

"How come you're always cold?" She asked absently.

Loki's fingers stilled for a moment before continuing. "I...my body's core temperature is different from the Aesir. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable"

Jane shook her head. "No, Asgard's always warm so it's nice. Do you even have winters here?"

"We do but they are not all that intense. The temperature drops but there is snow only occasionally except on the distant mountains." Loki replied and Jane detected a hint of longing in his voice.

"You like the snow?" She asked.

Loki chuckled. "Yes you could say that. Do you feel better now?"

Jane nodded. "Yeah. What did you do exactly?"

Loki shrugged. "Nothing much. I just gave you the Allspeak. It is a translator of sorts. It will allow you to read the books without needing someone to translate them for you."

Jane was excited again. "Awesome! I'll be in Thor's library. Tell him if you see him to bring lunch there."

Jane got up and practically skipped off. Loki shook his head at her only to be surprised when she bounded back and hugged him tightly. "Thanks Lo!" Jane kissed his cheek and was gone before Loki could understand what had just happened. He traced the spot where Jane had kissed him wondering what the emotion in the pit of his stomach was. He decided to head into the city before he came to an utterly foolish conclusion.

Lunch found Thor looking for Loki. He wanted to ask his brother to join him and Jane but Loki was nowhere to be seen. The guards didn't know where he'd gone either. Not that surprising since Loki had been a bird when he left Thor's room. Maybe some other time then. He casually swung Mjolnir looking forward to seeing Jane again. Thor still found it surreal that she was here.

He poked his head in his library and saw a table full of opened books, Jane going around seemingly trying to read them all at once. Thor smiled and stepped behind her wrapping his arms around her waist and hooking his chin over her shoulder. Jane jumped a little but relaxed when she saw it was just Thor.

"You know you can read them one at time don't you? They're not going to run away." Thor pointed out.

Jane put her hands on top of his and twined their fingers. "I know but I was just so excited I couldn't decide which one I wanted to read first so I thought why not read all of them?"

Thor chuckled. "Why not indeed. Wait... you're able to understand them all?"

Jane grinned. "Oh yeah. Your brother's got a bad habit of not telling people what he's doing before doing it but he gave me this universal translator...Allspeak? Yeah that's what he said it was. He was in the garden earlier. You know the one with that weird rose plantation that has literally every kind of rose and is crooked? I was there too and I mentioned I couldn't read the books so he just smacked his palm on my forehead and downloaded the translator in my brain I think."

"Oh. I should have thought of that. The garden is...was my mother's. Loki is the one who planted the crooked roses. He was five and thought it was just splendid to have all kinds of roses in one row. Mother was rather fond of it so she let it be." Thor sounded sad as he remembered his mother.

Jane stroked Thor's arm in comfort. "That's actually really adorable. I didn't know Loki took interest in gardening."

Thor smiled fondly. "Oh he just wanted to do what mother was doing. He was the sweetest little child. He'd trail behind mother and adopt all the little animals and wanted to help her in her work. She taught him everything she knew herself. The tutors didn't like Loki much because he was very sharp in speaking and learned far too quickly for their taste. I never understood why. He was adorable. Don't tell him I told you that."

"Of course. I don't want him to stab you. He's not actually going to do that is he?" Jane asked curiously.

"Oh he will. Once when we were eight. He turned himself into a snake because he knows I love snakes. And so I went to pick up the snake to admire it and Loki was like mblerg! It's me and then he stabbed with a knife he stole from mother's collection." Thor explained.

Jane blinked, and looked at Thor hoping he was joking but Thor only looked back at her. "Well don't bring any snakes in our room. I don't like them."

Thor nodded. "Yes well that was why Loki stabbed me in the first place. I brought a wild snake as a pet and it slithered into his room and Loki woke up to find it on his pillow. He didn't speak to me for a week and then he turned himself into one and stabbed to teach me a lesson. I stopped bringing snakes as pets after that."

Jane shook her head. "I'm pretty sure there were less extreme ways to teach that lesson but I get why he did it. Snakes can be poisonous you know. It could have bit Loki or someone else in the palace. That reminds me I haven't seen any of your other friends around"

Thor frowned, letting go of Jane so they could sit. "No? Sif or Fandral didn't come looking for me? Hogun hasn't returned and I think Volstagg would rather spend some time with his family. But I thought Sif or Fandral might show up. Anyways....we are having a small feast in the evening. To celebrate defeating Malekith and well me becoming King though it is only temporary."

"Feast....like a ball right? With food and music and dancing? I haven't gone to one of those in a long time. I have to warn you though all I know is basic waltz unless feasts on Asgard are like going to a club or slow dancing I'm not going to be that much of a good partner." Jane admitted.

"Club? Slow dancing? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with those Jane. Anthony did explain to me what a waltz is and that one is rather similar to the dances we have here. But I have never been to a club and I don't understand how one can dance slowly.' Thor asked confused.

Jane grinned. "I'll show you sometime. I think you'll like it. I don't have a dress for the evening and I need help with my hair. I don't really know how to do all those complicated braids."

"It's fine. I'll have the tailor sent to you and I know how to do the complicated braids. I'll do them for you. Can we just eat here? Let's put the books aside and make room." Thor suggested.

Jane nodded. Together they put the books on one side and Thor called the servants who served them food. Jane and Thor ate and chatted, comparing the celebrations and festivals on Earth and Asgard. Then Thor left saying he had to see to the soldiers but would be back before evening and they could head out to the feast together. Jane read some more but then she felt tired so she decided to nap on a divan in the living room.

Some time later a knock on the door woke her up. "Come in." Jane called out sitting up. It was a woman with brown hair, greying at the temples. Jane rubbed her eyes and smiled at her. "Hello. Are you looking for Thor? He said he was going to be in the training grounds."

The woman shook her head. "No My Lady. I actually came to see you. I am Alma, the Royal Seamstress. King Thor sent to me to help you pick a dress for tonight's feast. Shall I show you some fabrics?"

Jane perked up. "Yeah. Come sit and please call me Jane. We can leave the formalities for when there are more people around. What do you recommend?"

Alma smiled at her and sat down on a sofa beside Jane. A few servants brought in arms full of various fabrics. "It is rather warm so I suggest a lighter fabric. Perhaps a shade of red or blue? It will go well with King Thor's outfit. His colors are red and blue."

Jane nodded. "I prefer blue. A dark one but not too dark. The feast is in the night after all. Can we avoid the full sleeves? I'd like my arms to be free."

Alma nodded. "Of course My Lady. Can I take your measurements now?"

Jane nodded, standing up. Alma noted her measurements and together they decided on a navy blue gown with lace work at the neck line and half sleeves also made of lace so Jane wouldn't feel too warm as the night progressed. It flowed down her figure and had small sparkling beads sewn in it that Jane suspected were real diamonds. She felt like a princess which she supposed was not all that inaccurate considering where she was. The gown a little big for her small frame but Alma promised to alter it and have it ready by evening. She showed Jane some shoes and she picked a pair of ballerinas, not wanting to go with heels on a day when she was expected to dance. Alma also picked a small tiara for Jane despite her protests that she could wear with the gown. Alma asked if Jane needed help braiding her hair later but Jane refused as Thor was going to do that for her. All in all everything was sorted by the time Thor showed up again smiling broadly and dragging a pouting Loki behind him.

"Jane! I need your help. Tell Loki he needs to show up at the feast" Thor said.

Loki pulled out of Thor's grasp. "No I don't need to be at the feast. Getting drunk and acting like an idiot is your idea of fun not mine. I am not coming out of my room till tomorrow morning!"

Jane pouted. "But I was looking forward to seeing you dance! Come on it can't be that bad." Jane insisted.

Loki looked at her with narrowed eyes. "The last feast I went to this moron got so drunk he decided he wanted to become a goat farmer and then he tried to convince me to buy him goats and to move to the forest where we could raise them. I am not going to any feast he is going to be in!" Loki said pointing one accusing finger at Thor.

Jane laughed. "Really? That's hilarious. Reminds me of college. I had this friend....Ashley and this one time she got drunk and decided she wanted to become a photographer instead of a scientist and then she tried to set up a photo shoot right there in the middle of the party. There were some questionable pictures taken that day..."

Loki looked at Jane like she'd gone mad, then turned to Thor. "Congratulations you both completely deserve each other. See you tomorrow." He tired to leave but Thor caught him.

"No. No. The feast is in both our honor and we are going to show up to it. Please Loki. I need the people to see the Royal Family is united. You know how it's going to look if you avoid it completely. You don't have to stay till the end but please at least show your face." Thor pleaded.

Loki sighed. "Fine. I'll stay for one hour and one hour only and I am not dancing with anybody!"

Thor grinned. "Deal. Can you check on Jane before the feast?"

Loki nodded and looked at Jane. Jane sighed and sat down on the sofa, Loki knelt beside her. He could see she had absorbed more sedir again but her channels seemed to be strengthening on their own. Perhaps responding to some unconscious desire Jane had. Loki filed in the back of his mind to discuss with Eir later and set about drawing the excess sedir from Jane's body and dispersing it. Jane sighed in relief. "Thanks." Loki only nodded in return and stood up.

"I have drained the excess sedir. Jane should be fine till tomorrow morning. Now if you'll excuse me I have to dress up for an event I am vehemently opposed to." Loki sniffed and walked away.

Jane shook her head at him. Jane and Thor got ready for the feast. Thor helped Jane braid her hair so half of it was up and helped her set the tiara in it. He smiled at her in the mirror. "You look very beautiful, dear." He said kissing her shoulder.

Jane smiled at him. "Well I have to. I am supposed to be next to this handsome king you know." She teased.

"Lucky bastard." Thor retorted. Jane threw her head back and laughed. Thor chuckled and put his cape on and came to stand beside her. They looked good together. Thor offered his arm and led Jane to the banquet hall, stopping before the entrance.

"King Thor and Lady Jane of Midgard." The page announced. Thor walked in with Jane and sat at the high table in the center, directing Jane to sit beside her to his right. Loki was already there sitting in his seat to the left of Thor. He was wearing a thick green jacket with gold embroidery and he looked utterly bored already. Thor raised a glass in the air "Let the feast begin! Pour the mead!"

There was a loud cheer and the servants started serving the food and wine. Loki picked at his meal, while Thor pointed out some people to Jane. He looked for his friends but they were nowhere to be seen. Thor frowned, worried something had happened to them. As the mead flowed, the conversation in the room got louder and louder. Thor was careful that Jane drank only watered down mead, while Loki avoided drinking completely, his glass remaining full since it had been filled first. Someone suggested they dance and soon the tables were pushed to one side and music began playing. Thor took the first dance with Jane, twirling her around with practiced ease. Even though Jane had drunk only watered down mead she felt tipsy and giggled when Thor bent her backwards. Their dance concluded, Thor was pulled aside by some soldiers and Jane went back to the high table and sat down in Thor's chair beside Loki.

"Hey Lo! Come on let's dance!" Jane said pulling at Loki's arm.

Loki didn't even budge. "No." He said simply.

Jane pouted and because she was rather drunk felt like crying. "Why?! Why do you hate me so much? Am I not pretty?" Jane said almost in tears.

Loki blinked. "Jane I only said no to a dance. I don't hate you. You're drunk, maybe it's better if you just sit here till Thor comes back."

"Oh" Jane replied but then shook her head. "Nope. I want to dance! I want to dance now! Take me to dance! I'm not drunk. Look I can count how many fingers I have in one hand. Five. I have five fingers in one hand."

Loki looked at her amused. "That's cheating. All humans have five fingers in on one hand. This doesn't prove anything."

Jane pouted again, then looked at Loki with big round eyes. "Please Loki....you're nice aren't you. Please dance with me. It's rude to refuse a lady."

"Not when said lady is drunk and doesn't realize what she is doing. I am not dancing with you. Now sit here quietly, I'll go get my brother." Loki said standing up and going in search of Thor. He needed to take Jane back to their quarters.

Loki weaved through the crowd and spotted Thor in one corner with Sif. He hurried over to them but stopped a few feet away when he realized they were arguing.

"How can you let Loki roam freely like that Thor?"

"Sif I told you before and I am saying it again, Loki is my brother and I have chosen to pardon him. He has more than paid for any crime you perceive he committed."

"I perceive? I perceive?! Oh so what some mystic being captured Loki and forced his hand into attacking Midgard?! I get that you are letting other things slide but surely you cannot let his crimes against Midgard go."

"I can and I am. I don't know why exactly Loki attacked Midgard the way he did but you are not completely wrong in the assumption that someone forced him into it. The Loki I know might be a bit rough around the edges but he would never ever hurt innocent people willingly. I refuse to believe it. I wanted father to look more into it but he was too stubborn in his ways. I am not. I intend to hear at least once before passing judgement blindly. Enough of this. If you don't like Loki then keep away from him but he is not going anywhere."

Sif looked like she was about to burst but then turned on her heels and stomped off. Thor sighed and leaned his head against a pillar. He looked exhausted and Loki wondered how long he and Sif had been arguing. Loki backed away slowly and headed for his room. He could not let Thor ever discover the truth of the attack on Midgard. He was not going to lead his brother to the monster that he had fallen prey to in the void. Loki might be envious of his brother at times but he was not so bad as to damn his brother to such a fate. He needed to leave, before Thor got any ideas in his head about speaking to Loki. He had lingered far too much. He had all the arrangements made today. He would coax a decision out of Jane Foster tomorrow and leave Asgard once and for all.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for explicit sexual content in this chapter.

In the morning Loki woke up early. He stored away all necessary items in his personal pocket dimension, counted money he had found when checking for his hidden stash in his room and went over the excuse he was going to make to slip away from the palace. He had wanted to prevent using a secret path as he was still not fully recovered but things could not be delayed anymore so there was little choice. He decided to have breakfast with Thor and Jane and then talk to Jane afterwards and see if he could make her come to the conclusion he wanted. Everything ready he headed out, walking determinedly towards Thor's quarters.

  
"Oh hey Loki. Where's you going?" Jane Foster asked startling Loki.

  
He whirled around and saw the woman with books stacked high in her arms, so much so that Loki feared she might fall. "What are you doing here?" He asked a bit harshly.

  
Jane raised one eyebrow at his tone. "Well Thor woke up at the crack of dawn to go train with the soldiers for some reason and since he is not exactly capable of moving around silently it woke me up too. I was up so I thought I'd go see the main library. You guys have some great books so I picked some for light reading."

  
Loki frowned. "This is light reading? Here give me some of those. You're going to fall down a set of stairs at this rate and then Thor will cause a ruckus."

  
Loki took most of the books from Jane and they walked silently to Thor's chambers. Loki set the books on a table in Thor's library and was surprised to find someone had been taking notes.

  
"Yeah...I am trying to understand how you people see science and everything and it's not possible to remember so much stuff so I took notes. Though it's weird to write with a quill. Don't you have pens or something?" Jane asked.

  
"Of course we do." Loki conjured an ink pen for Jane along with an ink pot. "You could have asked that lumbering idiot. I'm sure he would have fallen on his feet to get you one."

  
Jane shook her head at Loki. "Do you have to call Thor names all the time? He's not as dumb as you make him sound you know."

  
"Oh I know Thor is intelligent. Otherwise he would be a terrible warrior. I don't call him an idiot because he's not smart. I call him an idiot because he's too trusting. People take advantage of that. He has to learn not everyone has good intentions." Loki explained.

  
"Is this the part where you promise no one is going to find my body if I hurt him?" Jane asked actually curious.

  
Loki smiled but it was neither charming nor warm. He stepped into Jane's space. "No. This is part where I promise everyone will remember what happens to those who dare to hurt Thor and that when they do your name will be at the top of the list."

  
Jane swallowed stepping back from Loki. Something about his gaze was no longer human and Jane didn't know how to react. Loki blinked and it was gone. He stepped back. "But I'm sure it won't come to that would it?"

  
Jane took a deep breath calming herself. "No. I have no intention of hurting Thor. At least not consciously. I know sometimes we end up hurting the people we love no matter how hard we try...."

  
Loki nodded. "You worry if you return and Thor remains here you might not see him again. You could......you could eliminate that fear....if you want...." Loki suggested.

  
Jane sighed sitting down. "I don't know.....I can't imagine being alive for hundreds of years. It seems....it seems like it's impossible. Everything....everyone I know will be gone and I'd still be here. I'm not sure I can handle that Loki. What is it like? Fuck I don't even know how old Thor is. I never asked."

  
"Thor is currently 1495 years old. His name day is next month in the month of Yule. I am 1050 years old. My name day has already passed earlier this year. How old are you?" Loki asked.

  
"32 completing this month on the 20th" Jane admitted. "You're 500 years younger than Thor? That's a lot. But he keeps talking like you're the same age."

  
Loki nodded. "I know. Age is odd for the Aesir. Some of them mature when they are five hundred some of them when they are over thousand years old. Thor matured in his seven hundredth year but I matured a lot faster in my four hundredth year. So in a way we match in terms of maturity. I know it is almost a fixed age for the humans."

  
"Them? Aren't you also Aesir? I mean Thor did say you were adopted but I thought you're both the same species." Jane asked confused.

  
Loki stiffened. "I....no that's not true. I...I thought I was Aesir but I am not. I am Jotun by birth though I don't identify with them" Loki waited for Jane to explode and call him a monster but it never happened. 

  
Jane only nodded calmly as if Loki hadn't admitted to being one of the worst beings in the Nine Realms. "That makes sense. You've been here since you were a baby right? Of course you'd identify more with Asgard than any other place. Jotun are frost giants right? I read about it in one of the books. No offense but aren't you short? For a giant I mean...."

  
Loki looked at Jane, looking for hints of disgust but there was only curiosity. "I am small for a giant. That is why Odin adopted me. I was too small for the Jotun so they....well Odin says they abandoned me to die in the snow...that's where he supposedly found me." 

  
Loki had never spoken to anyone about his adoption since the one time and now when he saw Jane was not judgemental, he found the words flowing freely. "I.....I just wish he'd told me from the start you know? I had to find out when a Jotun accidentally grabbed me during battle. I feel....I feel like my whole life was a lie. Mother said they didn't tell me because they didn't want me to feel different. But I....I've always felt different. Everyone loved the summers but I always liked the winters. I love reading and sedir feels like second skin to me. I sometimes feel like a woman not a man and I don't like food with so much spice and all these years I thought I was just some freak that there was something wrong with me but there's nothing wrong with me. It's because I'm not Aesir. And I just....if the goal was to make me feel accepted then it failed horribly. I'd rather have known why I was so different than having to spend centuries thinking something was wrong with me!"

  
Loki didn't realize he was crying until his tears fell on the table. He rubbed his eyes embarrassed at his own behavior. Jane simply stood up and came around the table and hugged Loki tightly. Loki hugged her back, he actually felt better saying everything out loud. Jane stroked his hair and Loki buried his face in her neck. He liked this. He couldn't remember the last time someone had bothered to listen to him and not judge him for the things he said. Loki's heart ached. He had half a mind to ditch all his plans and just stay here with Thor and Jane. But he knew it was never going to work in the long term.

  
"Better?" Jane asked after some time. Loki nodded. Jane put her hands on his shoulders and met his eyes. "You should know family is more than blood. It doesn't matter if you were born on some other planet whose people abandoned you. You grew up here on Asgard. Thor's your brother and Queen Frigga was your mother and King Odin is your father. They're not perfect...I mean if we're being honest Odin could have done a lot better by you.....but they're your family. They love you and you belong here and no one can take that away Loki. No one. Ok?"

  
Loki nodded. Jane smiled at him. "Good. Now I say we go get Thor from whatever it is he is doing in the training grounds. I am super hungry and I know you haven't eaten either. Maybe I can throw that tantrum you were talking about. I bet it will be even more dramatic with all the soldiers around"

  
Loki chuckled though it sounded a bit wobbly to him. But he did feel better. "Be sure to take that vase from Thor's bedside."

  
"Too late. That's what woke me in the morning. He was trying to get out of bed silently and knocked it down. It's a lost cause now." Jane shook her head sadly.

  
"Oaf" Loki commented without heat. 

  
Jane grinned at him and the warm feeling in his stomach was back. Loki pushed it down. He led Jane through the palace to the training grounds where Thor seemed to be teaching the new recruits. He had one soldier pinned below him and was explaining how he did it to the others. Despite Loki's claims, Thor was actually a good teacher if a bit impatient. But he was a lot better than the tutors Loki had during his childhood.

  
Thor smiled when he spotted Loki and Jane at the edge of the training ring. He gave some parting instructions to the gathered recruits and jogged over to them. He wiped his forehead with his discarded tunic and called Mjolnir to him.

  
"Loki! Jane! What brings you here?" Thor asked.

  
"We came to invite you for breakfast. Considering you left Jane here all alone in the wee hours of the morning. Was it necessary to train the recruits so early?" Loki countered 

  
Thor nodded. "I just had one meeting today in the evening and this class so I thought I'd take Jane on a tour. I wanted to get the class out of the way so we could have the whole day to ourselves." 

  
Jane clapped her hands in delight. "Yes! Are we going to see the observatory? Ooh do you have a museum with all the progress in science depicted in pictures? I'd love to see it!"

  
Loki clutched his stomach and laughed at the bewildered expression on Thor's face. Jane looked between them confused. Loki wiped the tears from his eyes. "He was just going to take you on a picnic in the nearby forest. He didn't think you'd like to see museums and scientific experiments over that. Thor meant to romance you Jane." Loki explained.

  
Jane looked from Loki to Thor. "Oh." Loki laughed harder at her dejected tone. Thor looked like someone had kicked his kitten and left it in the rain. 

  
"Oh this is just precious" Loki chuckled, stepping in front of Thor and pointing one finger at him. "That's what you get for calling me a bore!"

  
Jane shoved his shoulder to move him out of Thor's line of sight. She hurried to reassure Thor. "Sorry. You said tour so I thought we were going around the city or something. I would love to go on a picnic with you Thor." Jane said seriously.

  
"We can go around the city if that's what you want." Thor mumbled.

  
Jane shook her head. "No we can do that some other time. Let's go on a picnic. I honestly haven't been on one in a long time. New Mexico was too hot and London was too wet. I actually missed this weather. We can eat lots of chocolate and find patterns in the clouds"

  
"And you could always take Jane to see the observatory at night after your meeting. That way you'll both be happy." Loki pointed out. "The observatory looks better at night anyways."

  
Jane smiled at Loki gratefully. "See? We don't have to move the picnic at all. Come on let's have breakfast and then we'll head out. Loki can hold the fort right?"

  
Loki hesitated. He was hoping to leave in the afternoon but he supposed he could wait till night. "Yes of course. I'll just turn the annoying people into frogs."

  
"Please tell me that was a joke. You can lie. Just reassure me." Jane pleaded.

  
"It was a joke Jane Foster." Loki said putting on his most innocent expression.

  
Jane looked at Thor. "Heimdall will warn us if the palace is burning won't he?"

  
Thor stroked his chin. "I don't know. Loki can hide from Heimdall's sight...."

  
"You're pulling my leg right? It's not funny when I can't tell if it's a joke or not." Jane replied.

  
Loki gave in. "Fine, I'll behave and actually take care of the palace. Go roll in the grass and catch several diseases."

  
Jane punched Loki's arm. "Meany. See if we leave any nice treats for you."

  
Thor laughed. "I'm afraid Loki has more hold over the kitchen than I do. He's got all the cooks in his pocket since he was ten. Now come on I am hungry too. I'll wash up and then we can eat."

  
They all went back to Thor's room. Thor washed his arms and face in the basin by the balcony and pulled on a fresh tunic. They ate and talked and then the servants delivered a giant basket with all sorts of tidbits. Thor pulled a big blanket that he often used while camping and Jane changed into the only dress she'd brought along from Earth. A light green sundress with spaghetti straps. Perfect for a day out in the sun. 

  
Loki looked a bit surprised by the dress but then called Jane over and handed her a small round crystal ball with facets on a leather string. "Just in case you end up in some trouble. Or even if you get fed up of the Oaf and wish to return. You can use it to call me." 

  
Thor came up behind Jane and pouted at Loki. "This is not fair you never gave me any charms to call on you. I feel neglected."

  
"Perfect. That's exactly what I was aiming for. Now shoo before the dusty old men realize you're going out to have fun" Loki shooed Jane and Thor away then sighed. He decided to study the maps and restore as much of his sedir before night fall as he could.

  
Thor led Jane to the stables and to his horse. He helped Jane climb up and climbed on behind her and led them out of the city to a clearing by a lake in the forest. He often came here when he wanted to get away from the people. He let the horse wander and spread out the blanket for himself and Jane and lay down beside her, one hand under his head 

  
Jane sighed and closed her eyes as the sun shone brightly on them. "This is nice. How did you find this place?"

  
"By accident. I once came to find some honey in the forest for Loki and got lost on the way back and found this lake by mistake. It's a nice spot, I come here whenever the palace and the people become too much." Thor admitted.

  
Jane turned on her side and mirrored Thor's position. "My mom died when I was a kid and my dad followed soon after. I was raised by my aunt. She passed away a year before I met you. I love the stars but my peers always thought my theories were crazy. Frankly until you showed up I was the crazy star lady. Erik was my only real friend and relationships didn't really work out for me. I always felt lonely but I don't feel like that here. Everything is so different from Earth but I actually feel like I could fit in..."

  
Thor stroked Jane's cheek. Jane held his palm to her cheek. "I'm 32 years old. My birthday is on the twentieth this month. I love the stars and want to see the universe. I never thought anybody would put up with me let alone a prince from an alien planet. I can be absentminded and stubborn and I get so caught up in work that I forget the outside world.."

  
"Jane....where are you going with this?" Thor asked.

  
Jane smiled and turned her head kissing Thor's palm. "I just realized I didn't even know how old you are. Loki says you're almost 1500 years old. I realized I never told you so many things. So I wanted to tell you this..."

  
Thor shifted closer to Jane. "I don't really remember much before Loki came. I remember mother being worried when father went to war and hiding in my closet because I was afraid. Then Loki came along and he was...is my best friend. Even when he couldn't speak, he'd always smile for me. He never did it for mother or father. We used to share a room and Loki would insist I tell him bedtime stories. He loved stories. Then I got older and he got older and we had different interests. I made friends and trained. I remember the first time I felt the storms. I could feel the clouds like they were a part of me and Mjolnir.... Mjolnir just sang to me. I thought the world of my father. I thought there was no one as perfect as him.

  
I was stubborn and arrogant. So so arrogant. So many times I pushed aside the words of my mother and Loki and got it in my head that it only mattered what Odin said. I only wanted his approval and I always had it no matter what I did so I let it go to my head. I regret that now. If I'd just....if I'd just listened when Loki was speaking when my mother was...I could have prevented all of it. Loki wouldn't have....he wouldn't be so bitter and angry if I'd just....but it's like he says you know? I'm an idiot. An idiot who doesn't learn until it's too late. I'm always too late..."

  
Jane wrapped her arms around Thor's shoulder and guided him to lay his head on her shoulder. She ran a hand through his hair and Thor breathed in her scent. He spoke more lowly now. "I not that good at relationships either. Before you I only loved one person but they did not love me like I loved them. I thought I'd never love anyone else. I thought I'd be alone forever until I met you. I managed to push away all the people who actually cared about me and I nearly drove my kingdom into war. I would have made a terrible King. In a way what Loki did was right. I was not ready."

  
Jane hummed. "Maybe you should tell him that. Tell him how you feel about everything. He was telling me earlier that he is Jotun and he looked scared like he was worried I would judge him. He hides it well but I think Loki thinks he has no place here. He doesn't want to leave. He just thinks he has no other choice."

  
Thor looked at Jane with a frown. "What makes you say he's trying to leave? He seems to be adjusting well again."

  
Jane shook her head. "No. I ran away from my aunt once when I was a kid. I know the look. Loki is going to run away. He was up early today and he was startled to see me and he hesitated earlier when I asked if he could take care of the palace for the day. He also suggested we go out at night. I'll bet we'll come back to find him gone. He's trying to leave but his heart is not in it. If it was he'd be gone already."

  
Thor's frown deepened. "I'll ask Heimdall to keep an eye on him. He's not even recovered fully! He needs to rest"

  
Jane sighed. "If you set Heimdall on Loki he's going to be angry and then you'd have no choice but to let him go. Loki is the youngest child which means he always feels like other make his choices for him. Staying has to be his choice otherwise it won't stick. That doesn't mean we won't try to stop him. It just means we have to be more subtle about. Let's involve him more in the daily activities. Loki can't run away if he doesn't have the time for it and who knows maybe Loki will realize he is welcome to stay."

  
Thor leaned his head back on Jane's shoulder. "I feel like we're going about this picnic all wrong. We were supposed to be finding the patterns in the clouds."

  
Jane smiled. "I think it's going well. After all if we can't speak to each other about these things then it's not really good for our relationship is it? Who cares what picnics are supposed to be like. I wouldn't say no to a swim in the lake though. Is the water safe?"

  
Thor nodded. "Yes. It's perfectly safe. There are only a few small fish in it and some frogs no predators or harmful plants at all. We didn't bring any swim clothes...."

  
"How secluded is the lake again?" Jane asked instead.

  
Thor looked at her. "I think even Loki doesn't know about it. It's not on the maps if that's what you're asking. Why?"

  
Jane grinned and sat up, reaching back to unzip her dress. "Well then let me introduce you to the concept of skinny dipping." 

  
Jane carefully set the charm Loki had given her aside and pulled her dress and undergarments off. Thor caught on halfway through and worked on getting his own clothes off fumbling with the buckles because he was distracted by Jane getting up and walking to the shore of the lake. Jane stepped into the lake and swam in half way, before looking back at Thor. "Come on!"

  
Thor hurried to get his own clothes off and dove into the lake chasing after Jane. She laughed and swam in a circle avoiding Thor's hands when he made a grab for her. They chased each other in the lake for some time before Jane swam around Thor and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Got you!" Jane exclaimed smiling broadly. Thor reached an arm behind and pulled Jane around again, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. The feel of her bare skin against his was divine and Thor felt heat pool in his stomach. Jane bit her lip, running her hands all over Thor's back and lower grabbing his ass. Thor's cock swelled and he weaved his fingers in Jane's hair and kissed her all tongue and teeth.

  
Jane moaned and let her other hand wander to Thor's cock and stroked it full hardness. Thor broke the kiss, panting. "No...no....wait...I don't.....I don't want to hurt you again. Maybe....maybe we should slow down."

  
Jane shook her head. "You won't hurt me. It was an accident. I want you...please..."

  
Jane kissed Thor, tangling her tongue with his and Thor was helpless against her. Jane swam back to the shore and Thor followed her. Once out of the lake, they were kissing again. They barely made it to their blanket, kissing and nipping whatever skin they could find. Thor kissed down Jane's chest, suckling her nipples making her moan. He bit at her hip and then went lower, kissing her thighs, directing her to spread them. Jane obliged, letting her legs fall open and bracketing Thor's frame between them. 

  
Thor kissed up her inner thighs and put one of Jane's legs over his shoulder. Thor licked a stripe up Jane's pussy and then delved deeper, sucking on her clit. Jane threw her head back and moaned, burying her fingers in Thor's hair, pushing up into his tongue. Thor licked and sucked her cunt. He stiffened his tongue and fucked her with it. Jane panted as she felt her orgasm build up. Thor licked the juices that flowed from her and fucked as far as he could with his tongue then drew back and sucked on Jane's clit again. Jane came with a loud moan when Thor gently nipped her clit. Thor licked her pussy one last time before letting go of her, rubbing her shaking thighs.

  
"Good?" He asked wiping his mouth, savoring Jane's taste on his lips. Jane came down from her high and pulled Thor down, so he lay lengthwise on top of her completely covering her body.

  
She stroked his neglected cock, thumbing his slit, making him moan. "I want you in me now. I want to feel your cock pulse when you cum inside me." Jane whispered in Thor's ear. Thor moaned and kissed her letting her taste herself. He lined himself with Jane's cunt and pushed inside slowly. Jane who was slick from her recent orgasm opened for Thor easily. They both moaned when Thor bottomed out. 

  
Thor began moving slowly at first then gaining speed, trying to angle for that special spot inside Jane. His arms almost gave out when he found it and Jane clenched around his cock. They kissed again, messily, panting and breathing in each other's breath. Jane wrapped her legs around Thor and took him in deeper. She clenched every time Thor thrust in, milking him. She kissed dug her nails in Thor's back and sucked and bit at his pulse. Thor drove into Jane hitting the spot inside her over and over again and reaching down one hand to rub her clit. Jane moaned as she felt a second orgasm build up. Thor's breath quickened and he came inside Jane with one final thrust, just as she came again.

  
They both panted as they came down from the high together. Thor pulled out of Jane carefully and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. He pulled a napkin from their basket and gently cleaned Jane and then himself up with it, then discarded it. He lay down beside Jane on the blanket. Jane turned towards him and Thor wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer so she was half on top of him. Jane drew nonsense patterns over Thor's chest and they basked in each other's presence for sometime.

  
Eventually Jane pointed out that they should probably put some clothes on. She put on her clothes again and Thor did the same letting their shoes be for now. He pulled the basket closer and peered inside. Thor poured some sweet wine which Jane could drink without worrying unlike the mead into glasses and they fed each other cheese and bits of fruit and some tarts the cook had packed for them. Then Thor told Jane about stories of when he used to camp with Loki and his friends which made her giggle and smile. Before they knew it, the sun was a lot lower in the sky and it was time to go back. 

  
Jane sighed and looked around the lake as Thor secured their basket and blanket to their horse. He looked at her questioningly. "Oh...nothing...this place is really lovely. You know you should build a small cottage here. Like a summer house you could use as a getaway."

  
Thor considered it. "That is a really good idea. But I don't want to bring workers here. Then they'd know it exists and the magic would be lost."

  
Jane shrugged. "Maybe we can build it ourselves? Can't be that hard. Though I have to admit the only wood work I know is from my high school where I had to take an extra class for credits and my aunt signed me up for a wood shop class. I am not meant for it. My teacher said it was the ugliest bird house she'd ever seen. I can help hand you stuff though."

  
Thor laughed. "Sorry despite carrying around a giant hammer all the time, I am no good at it either. You know who can build a house for us? Loki. He's great at all sorts of crafts from wood work to weapon forging to painting. Mother often hung the paintings he made in her room and he once built an entire playground for the rabbits in our garden. You were saying we need to keep him occupied....now we just have to think of a way to get him to agree on this."

  
Thor helped Jane onto the horse again. "Maybe we can bribe him with something. Or maybe you can use your puppy dog eyes and wear him down. This should keep him occupied for a good few months." Jane pointed out.

  
Thor climbed on behind her and took the reins. "I know. Unfortunately I have to go to that meeting now. Perhaps we can talk about it tonight?"

  
Jane nodded. "You got it. I was thinking we can take Loki along with us to see the stars."

  
Thor nodded, leading them out of the forest. "Excellent idea dear."

  
They made it back to the palace and found Loki lounging on the steps that led to the palace. Thor dismounted and gaped at the palace. He looked at Loki with a frown. "Loki....why is the entire palace....green?"

  
Indeed everything from the walls to the pillars were all green. Jane managed to climb down the horse on her own as Thor squinted at the murals on the wall. All of them depicted Loki in glorious battle. Jane bit her lip to keep from laughing, hoping it was some spell. Surely it was not possible to actually do a complete renovation of the palace in such a short time. The guards that she could see in the hallways looked extremely nervous and were wearing green armor with Loki's sigil.

  
Loki stood up grinning. He spread his arms. "Don't you like it?! I wanted give the palace my special touch in the one day I had to care for it."

  
Thor glared at Loki. "Change it back! Change it back right now!"

  
Loki tapped his chin in thought. "Hmmm.....No." He replied running into the palace.

  
Jane couldn't help it anymore and started laughing, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. Thor ran after Loki. "Get back here you fucking brat!"

  
Thor and Loki chased each other like children up and down the palace halls while Jane had to sit on the ground to keep herself from falling over in laughter. Eventually she calmed down and sighed getting up to go and stop her idiots before they brought the whole palace down. Jane stopped at the foot of the stairs. Since when did she consider both Thor and Loki as hers? Because Jane realized somewhere between having the Aether in her body to coming to stay with Thor on Asgard, she had begun thinking of Thor as hers and....and Loki was quickly becoming the best friend she had ever had.

  
Jane watched as Thor pulled Loki into a headlock until Loki relented and let his spell drop. It....it was like a family. All three of them together, laughing and joking around. Jane couldn't imagine Thor and Loki separately now that she'd seen them together and she realized she wanted to be a part of their unit. She wanted to sit by a lake with Thor and exchange barbs with Loki. She wanted it not for a few months or a few years, she wanted it forever. Mind made up Jane decided she would go to Eir herself tomorrow. For now she went to break the fierce bantering between her two idiots and hoped she could soon stay with them like this for a long long time.

  
TBC.....


	6. Chapter 6

After breaking up the fight between Thor and Loki, Jane needed help removing excess sedir from her body. It dulled the mood a bit not helped by the fact that Thor had to go see the council. Loki looked extremely nervous and uncomfortable which was such a departure from his usual demeanor that Jane worried he was going to disappear right in front of her eyes. She managed to convince him to stay and explain some of the scientific concepts that were more magic than science and therefore went over Jane's head. She found Loki was a great teacher often using his illusions to give practical demonstrations and patient enough that Jane did not feel bad when she asked the same questions over and over.

"You're a great teacher Lo! You should consider taking up tutoring." Jane complimented Loki and found it adorable when he blushed.

"Er...thank you....I think you should rest. It's almost night and you were gone the whole day. I....I shall see you in the morning...." Loki made to leave but Jane caught his hand.

"Oh come on at least stay for dinner. And I was thinking you can join me and Thor later at the observatory too. It'll be fun." Jane proposed.

Loki blinked at her. "You.....I don't want to impose on your time with Thor....."

"Pff! I spent time with Thor in the afternoon and you're not imposing Loki. You're part of this family. If anything I'm worried I am hogging up all of Thor's time. I haven't seen his friends once since I came back and I'm starting to wonder if it's because they don't like me or something..." Jane admitted.

Loki shook his head. "No. Not at all. Hogun and Volstagg have been away from their families for too long. Fandral comes and goes anyways and I...uh....I did see Sif at the feast yesterday. But believe me it's best if she stays away...."

"Why?" Jane asked curiously.

Loki rubbed his neck. "Well....before....well even after if I think about it....um....Sif is one of the noble ladies of Asgard and....before Thor met you....Odin wanted them to marry. I think he tried to get Thor to marry her even after he made it clear he was in a relationship with you. I'm not sure how well Sif took it when she realized Thor doesn't love her that way."

Jane blinked at Loki. "Really? Huh. She seemed nice enough when I met her during the convergence. Also your foster father is a total asshole. You know when he first saw me he called me a goat!"

Loki winced. "I didn't know that. Though I'm not surprised. But back to Sif. I think it's best if she stays away."

Jane nodded but appeared to be thinking about it. "What about other people? Has it..do you know anyone Thor might have liked but they didn't like him back? I'm not prying. I'm just curious."

Loki frowned. "No. Not to my knowledge. As a matter of fact I can point out several women who would love to be beside Thor. Mostly for the power that comes with being with him. I didn't know Thor was nursing a broken heart."

Jane hummed. "I have a theory....but no proof yet...we shall see. I also....I want to go ahead with what you said....about strengthening my sedir channels. I was with Thor at the lake and I realized I want to be with him as long as I can..."

Loki perked up at that. "Splendid. We'll go to Eir tomorrow and sort it out."

"Sort what out?" Thor asked poking his head in the room.

"How to repair your damaged brain. I am positive Odin dropped you on the head as a child. There's no other explanation." Loki replied without missing a beat.

Thor rolled his eyes at him then his gaze fell to the table and Loki followed it realizing his hand was still in Jane's. He snatched it back a little harshly trying to act as if nothing was amiss. Thankfully Jane spoke up catching Thor's attention.

"Loki was teaching me some of these theories since they went completely over my head. He's really good at that and then I told him he should have dinner with us" Jane said.

Thor tilted his head. "Of course. I thought that was something we were doing now."

Loki hadn't known that but he didn't get a chance to voice his opinion as Jane spoke over him. "I know. I told him he should come to the observatory with us but he's trying to get away." Jane pouted.

"Oh come on Loki. You love the observatory! It'll be fun! I spoke to Heimdall and told him to take the night off so it'll be just us. We can stay up till sunrise and look at the stars." Thor insisted.

Loki looked between them both. They seemed completely at ease as if it would not be odd to have Loki there with them. He was supposed to leave tonight. He had everything ready to go and even Heimdall was not going to be watching the Bifrost. But Jane and Thor actually wanted his company and it had been so long since someone truly enjoyed his presence, Loki found himself nodding. Besides he needed to make sure Jane's sedir channels were properly strengthened then he would leave immediately.

Jane whopped in delight and hugged Loki sideways. Thor threw Mjolnir over his head and mirrored her so Loki was stuck to his chair squished between the two. He let them hug him for a few seconds before protesting.

"Get off me!" Loki wriggled in their hold. Thor and Jane laughed a little and let go of him. Loki fought to control the blush spreading on his face. What was wrong with these two!

They ate dinner where Loki made sure Thor knew how atrocious his table manners were. Jane mourned the lack of noodles and pastas and pizzas. All names of food items Loki had never heard of. Thor promised to fetch her some from Midgard later. Loki was sure he was going to get dragged along on that pointless venture.

After dinner Loki went to his room and promised to meet Jane and Thor in an hour. He hadn't sorted his room out yet, only using the bed for sleeping and the bathing chamber so he decided to clean some things up since it was rather obvious now that he was stuck on Asgard for a bit longer than he had expected. Loki didn't want to examine how he felt about Jane more closely because he knew it was a slippery slope. One he did not want to step on. He had to keep some distance from Jane and Thor otherwise he was going to end up doing something extremely foolish. He changed into more comfortable clothes and headed for their room again.

He found Jane in the hallway, in her pajamas with a shawl around her shoulders. "Jane? Where's Thor?"

Jane smiled at him. "Oh he got called by the General....Tyr right? Yeah apparently some soldiers got into a fight at the local inn with some traders. He said he'd break it up and then come to the observatory. So I was just waiting for you. Shall we?"

Loki frowned but Jane was looking at him expectantly so he nodded. Jane offered her arm and it made Loki laugh. He lopped his arm with Jane's and led her to the stables. Since the observatory was too far away to walk they would have to take a horse. Loki helped Jane up, then climbed behind her and took the reins, leading them through the city.

"You do not know how to ride? Has Thor offered to teach you?" Loki asked.

Jane shook her head. "No I think it's slipped Thor's mind and honestly I'm a little scared of handling a horse on my own. But I see what you mean. If I'm going to stay here I need to learn it sometime. Do you mind teaching me?"

"Uh...no not at all. I can teach you. Are you sure you'd rather not learn it from Thor?" Loki asked, wanting Jane to go to Thor rather than him.

"Nah I have you. I'll pester Thor for something else. I still don't know my way around the palace properly. He can help with that one." Jane replied.

Loki frowned in thought. They reached the observatory where Heimdall was still present. Loki got down from his horse and helped Jane down as well. Heimdall turned to look at them. Jane smiled at him. "Hey Heimdall. You're still here? I thought Thor gave you the night off. You didn't have to wait on us."

Heimdall nodded at her. "I am aware of that Lady Jane. I simply enjoy my work. The realms are fascinating to watch. Shall I tell you what goes on in Midgard?"

Jane bit her lip. "No. I....I think I prefer the more conventional ways of getting news. If I write a letter would you deliver it for me?"

"You do not need me to deliver your letters Lady Jane. Thor and Loki are capable of doing it themselves. I can aid you in going to Midgard if you wish to visit your friends though. How are feeling now?" Heimdall asked.

Jane grinned. "Better. Loki takes good care of me. I have had less episodes since I came here. I know you can see all the planets. How does that work? Is it magic? Your eyesight I mean are you enhancing it with magic?"

Heimdall smiled at Jane fondly. "You are just as curious as Loki was when he was a boy. No my eyesight is a gift I was born with. I do possess some magic but my eyesight has always been like this. I shall take your leave now. The skies are clear tonight you shall enjoy watching them."

"Oh yeah sure. Thanks Heimdall! Enjoy your break!" Jane waved at Heimdall as he left.

She walked closer to the edge and looked up marveling at the stars. Loki came to stand beside her. Despite the drab clothes Jane looked beautiful in the starlight. She had a spark in her eyes that made them shine. Loki swallowed pushing that thought down. He could not....would not go down that path. Still he found himself drawing closer to Jane, speaking to her in a low voice.

"That is Thiassi's eyes. Legends say the Jotun Skadi discovered it and named it after her father. This here is Aurvandil's toe. That one over there is known as the Road to Hel." Loki explained pointing out the various constellations.

Jane pointed at star in the sky. "Oh! I know that. We call it Sirius. It's the brightest star in the sky and part of the Canis Major. In my observations you people can see it too right? What do you call it?"

"That is Lokabrenna. Named after my brother because he was the one who discovered it in his five hundredth year." Thor spoke from behind them startling Loki a little.

Loki made to move away from Jane but Thor came to stand behind them and put one arm around each of their shoulders. "The people say it twinkles at random times in the year and that whenever it burns brightest Loki's chaos runs amok in the realms. It's quite a jest among the locals."

"You discovered an entire constellation? That is so cool! What else have you discovered?" Jane asked excited.

Loki blinked at her. "Nothing really....I didn't even know Lokabrenna was not a known constellation. It was mother who realized what I was looking at. If anything it is more her achievement then mine."

"Now you're just being modest Lo. I remember the first time I noticed I was looking at a set of stars that could not possibly be seen from Earth. I thought I messed up but then I realized my calculations were accurate. My professor laughed at me when I told her. It wasn't until Thor grazed my car falling out of the sky that people took me seriously." Jane explained.

"It was more was hit and fell unconscious then grazed dear." Thor pointed out.

Jane frowned at Thor. "It was grazed. You barely even had a scar! And the second time was totally your fault. I gave a signal and I was in a parking lot. You were the one who wasn't looking where he was going" Jane insisted.

Loki felt a smile creep over his face. "Did you really hit Thor with your vehicle not just once but twice? That is how you met? By hitting him? Oh this is wonderful! I am going to tell that story at all the feasts from now on!"

Thor looked at Loki in horror while Jane frowned. "Whatever. But you tell them I only grazed him with my car and that it was his fault." She insisted.

"Of course." Loki replied easily, grinning at Thor.

Thor narrowed his eyes. "Well in that case I will have regale the tale of how Jane slapped you when she first met you. It would be lovely wouldn't it?"

Loki glared at Thor. "My hands were tied! I was a helpless victim!"

Jane's frown deepened. "You know all these stories make me sound like some violent woman who hits people. Maybe we should be vague with the first meet stories."

Thor and Loki glared at each other but then Thor relented. "Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut if the brat keeps his mouth shut too."

"Fine." Loki agreed.

"Just so you both know I will deny everything even if you did tell everyone your story" Jane admitted. "Can we sit somewhere?"

"Yes of course. Come let us sit here." Thor led them to the space near the Bifrost mechanism.

Jane sat between Thor and Loki. They watched the stars in the sky. Thor and Loki speaking in turns explaining the various constellations pointing them out to Jane. As time passed they all felt sleepy. Loki found his eyes drooping and his head slowly dropped onto Jane's shoulders. Jane brushed a hand through his hair and gently guided him to lay his head on her lap. Loki sighed sleepily. It felt good to have Jane stroking his hair like that. Thor looked at Loki fondly as he almost purred when Jane stroked his hair. He didn't understand why people didn't like Loki. He was harmless as long as people did not push him too hard. People were too quick to judge Loki. Thor was glad he and Jane got along. He found his brother almost never denied Jane anything. He seemed to be making a friend. Thor was happy to see it. Loki spent too much time alone.

Jane watched Thor watch Loki. Her instinct told her there was more to Thor's feelings for Loki than just brotherly concern. But she knew Thor was capable of hiding his feelings just as much as Loki and she wanted to be sure before she said anything. She didn't want to scare Thor away.

"Well this one's asleep and I'm not going to be that far behind. Can we go back to the palace?" She asked.

Thor nodded. "Yes. I feel tired too. Loki? Loki? Loki wake up we need to go back. You can't sleep in Jane's lap. Come on. Time for bed."

Thor tapped Loki's cheek to wake him. Loki batted his hand away grumbling. He opened his eyes a sliver and pouted. "What?" He asked his voice husky with sleep.

"We need to go back to the palace and sleep in a proper bed. Come on, get up" Thor insisted.

Loki pouted harder then Jane and Thor felt a sudden displacement of air. Jane found her head crashing into a pillow and Thor yelped as he hit the ground. Green wisps of magic dissipated, Loki having teleported them all to his bedroom. Jane was on the bed with Loki's head now on her shoulder, his arms around her but Thor hadn't been so fortunate as he'd been on Jane's other side, he fell on the floor.

Jane raised her head and looked at Thor. "Are you alright?"

Thor rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I bet he did it on purpose. Brat. Come on let's go."

Thor tried to pry Loki off Jane but Loki's brow furrowed in sleep and his sedir rose to defend him, pushing Thor half way across the room. Jane sighed laying her head back down and shifting a bit to find a better position.

Thor came back to the bed and frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

Jane huffed. "Well since Loki thinks I'm a giant sized pillow and won't let go of me I might as well get comfortable. You take the other side. For some reason this bed is big enough to fit four people."

Thor hesitated a bit but then followed Jane's advice and got on the other side of the bed and turned on his side so Loki was between them both. Loki seemed to sense him and pushed back into his chest. Not really understanding what to do, Thor put his arm around Loki so his fingers were touching Jane's stomach. Jane slid closer to Loki so Thor was able to wrap his arm around them both.

Jane put a hand on Thor's arm and stroked his skin, till he relaxed. Jane smiled at him. "Goodnight"

She closed her eyes and was asleep in a few minutes. Thor watched her and Loki sleep. He felt the stirrings of an old feeling one he'd thought gone when he looked at Loki. Thor shook his head and closed his eyes firmly. He loved Jane. He loved only Jane. Loki was his brother. Thor had to accept that and move on. That was it. Jane watched Thor from under her eyelashes. So her instinct seemed to be right. Whatever Thor felt for Loki it was more than just brotherly love. She didn't know what to do with that information. Yet. She would figure it out. Tomorrow though. She was too tired now. Jane closed her eyes and actually fell asleep this time.

In the morning, Loki sighed happily as he felt a body in his arms. He didn't remember what he had been doing last night but this was nice. He felt another body behind him. Oh. Well this was a surprise. Loki didn't usually take on multiple lovers but he was not averse to it. That's why his bed was bigger than it needed to be.

"Hmmm...well please tell me you are going to let go of me. I would like to get up now" Jane's voice said.

Loki frowned. That did not seem right. He opened his eyes and blinked in surprise when he realized he had his arms around Jane and she was in his bed. Loki felt his breath get stuck in his lungs.

"You snore" Thor's voice said from behind and Loki turned his head and saw Thor was in his bed as well. He was actually between Thor and Jane.

"Uh...." Loki was now very confused.

Jane wriggled to get out of Loki's hold and he immediately let go of her pushing back instinctively only to find that now he was in Thor's arms, back pressed to his chest. Loki felt a blush cover his cheeks. Jane stretched her arms over her head making her shirt ride up and reveal part of her stomach. Loki felt Thor's intake of breath. He needed to get out of this bed. But before he could consider moving, Jane leaned over him to kiss Thor.

"Good Morning" she said smiling at Thor, then kissed Loki's cheek. "You literally teleported us all to your room last night and then you wouldn't let go of me so...." Jane shrugged.

"Yes and when I tried to pry you off her your sedir almost threw me out of the room" Thor complained letting go of Loki and sitting up as well.

Loki sat up too looking between them. "Sorry. Sometimes my sedir has a mind of its own. All I remember is falling asleep watching the stars. I'm sorry for all the trouble."

"It's fine. It was like a sleepover. Your bed can fit four people in it anyways. Why is it so big?" Jane asked curiously.

Loki blushed harder not sure how to answer that question. For once he was grateful when his brother spoke in between. "Loki why are most of your things still covered up? I thought you called the servants to help you clean."

"If you don't want to have servants around we can help you instead. I bet Thor can move all this stuff on his own in half the time." Jane suggested.

"Uh...no it's fine. I was tired and trying to recover so I didn't get around to it. I can move the things on my own." Loki insisted. He picked a thread on the bed. "I.....I'm sorry about last night.....I didn't mean to keep you both here....."

Jane waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. Like I said, it was like a sleepover. Can you do that draining sedir thing now? I actually feel heavy? yeah I feel heavy..."

Loki turned towards Jane sitting crossed legged. He ran a gentle finger over her forehead, examining her. "Yes...there is a lot sedir built up. I am surprised you do not feel sick. Your sedir channels.....they seem to be strengthening on their own...." Loki muttered as he pulled the excess from Jane

Thor frowned at that. "Perhaps you should see Lady Eir. We need to close the sedir channels off sooner rather than later."

Jane shook her head. "No. I...I don't want to close them. I want them to strengthen and I want to learn sedir and I....I want to be here with you for as long as I can...."

Loki was beginning to feel like he should not be part of this conversation. "I...I'll go arrange breakfast." He made to get up but Jane caught his hand and pushed him down.

"No stay." She turned back to Thor. "This is my choice Thor. This is what I want. I am not making this decision just because of you even though that is a part of it. I realize that I have so much more to learn and explore and now I have a chance to have more time for it. Can't you trust me to make this choice?"

"Of course I trust you to make your own choices. I just don't want you to regret it later. What about when your friends on Midgard are gone? What about when you outlive their children and their children's children? I don't want you to feel like I pushed you into this decision." Thor explained.

Jane shook her head. "You're not pushing me into it. You've made it clear you will support me if I choose to go back to being a normal human. But I don't want that. I like Asgard. I like being here and....and I love you. I want to be with you. I want as much time with you as I possibly can. I'm selfish like that."

Loki shifted wanting to leave but unable to do so with the grip Jane still had on his hand. Thor seemed overwhelmed. "Oh Jane....I love you too. I want to be with you too. I will support you if this is what you truly want."

Jane nodded. "This is what I want. Loki agrees with it too. He's been trying to get me to go to Eir forever. I'm pretty sure it was his idea in the first place" Jane pointed out.

Thor swerved his head to look at Loki and Loki tried to shrink away from his gaze. "You....you suggested this to Lady Eir?"

Loki bit his lip. "Well....when the Aether was in Jane and....we were escaping Asgard....you seemed upset about her.....mortality and well....the Aether already opened channels for Jane...it just seemed a waste to let such an opportunity go......"

Loki trailed off when he saw Thor had tears in his eyes. Thor rubbed them. "Nothing....it's just when I told father I loved Jane his response was that the humans are nothing and I should not waste my time with them. Then he suggested I marry Sif even when he knows I don't feel that way about her. It...it means a lot that you accept Jane...that you're willing to support my choice.."

Loki didn't know how to respond to that, embarrassingly enough his stomach growled then, making Jane and Thor laugh. Thor put a hand on his shoulder. "Well come on then let's get some food in you. I swear you look like we don't feed you around here."

Loki pulled at his sleeves self-consciously and scowled. "Well not all of us are trying to give Volstagg a competition! Most of the food I eat goes into fuel my sedir. It's not my fault."

Thor smiled at him fondly. "I only jest Loki. I did not mean to offend you."

"Yeah. You look like one of those runway models all the time and you just woke up too! Now I'm just jealous." Jane pouted.

Loki flushed again. "It's not....it's not even my true form....you would not say that if truly saw me."

Jane shrugged. "I don't believe you but let's agree to disagree. Now come on I'm hungry too."

Jane bounded of the bed before Loki could protest and Thor shrugged following her. Loki lay back down and stared at the ceiling wondering how his life had come to this. Eventually he got up and bathed before changing and heading to Thor and Jane's room for breakfast. Today Jane was wearing an Asgardian dress and had her hair in a braid which Loki was sure Thor had done for her. His brother was wearing more armor than usual. Loki sat in his spot to Thor's left and frowned at him.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked curious.

Thor nodded. "Yes. I will be going to Alfheim for a short visit. I was thinking of taking Jane along with me after she visits Lady Eir. You should come along too. I know you like the elves."

Loki stopped buttering a piece of bread and looked at Thor surprised. "Are you sure you want that Thor? The council might not like it."

Thor grunted in response. "The council wants me to visit Alfheim, so I'm visiting Alfheim. The people I choose to take along with me are my concern not theirs. They cannot boss me around all the time. I am the king not them."

"Yeah. And I want some company while Thor is busy with meetings, You'll show me around won't you?" Jane pleaded.

Loki huffed. "Fine. I suppose I could do with a visit to Alfheim. Don't wear so much armor Thor, you know the elves don't care for it. They're not like the Aesir."

Thor looked down at his armor. "You are actually right. I was wondering if I overdid it. I suppose carrying Mjolnir should suffice. General Tyr will be coming along as well and Armod too. I don't think we need anyone else. Heimdall will keep watch of course. We leave in the afternoon"

Loki nodded. "Alright. I will be there. Jane shall we go see Lady Eir after breakfast?"

"Yeah. Let's get started on this sedir thing right away" Jane agreed.

They all ate breakfast and then Thor left to go over some things before their departure in the afternoon. Loki led Jane to the healing rooms. Eir was delighted to see her even more so when Jane expressed her desire to keep the sedir channels rather than close them off. Eir guided her to the soul forge and took some scans, noting that Jane's sedir channels were indeed strengthening.

"They are responding to your inherent desire." Eir explained. "This is a good sign. It means it should be easier for us to strengthen them. Loki you should start training Jane in the basics of sedir. Perhaps teach her how to redirect the excess sedir and the basic spells?"

Loki nodded. "Yes. I will begin tonight. Do you think we can work on expanding Jane's sedir channels? Once we strengthen them I mean..."

Eir contemplated it. "There is something else we can do instead. It is an obscure practice now....almost abandoned....but....we could forge a soul bond between Lady Jane and His Grace. It will tie her life force to King Thor's and that way they will both have the same life span."

"I thought several mages tried to forge soul bonds but failed? I've read accounts where the results of a failed soul bond were quiet horrifying. I admit I do not know much about them" Loki said.

Eir nodded. "Much of the information about them is....inaccessible. The reason being the race that introduced them to the nine realms have chosen to shut themselves off from everyone else....but I will tell you this, the accounts of the failed soul bonds are accounts where mages tried to force the soul bonds and then of course they were unsuccessful."

"Which race introduced the soul bond? Maybe we can ask them directly" Jane suggested.

Eir sighed. "It was the Jotun. A long long time ago the Jotun married not by exchanging vows but by forging soul bonds. The practice was quite prominent when King Odin was still Thor's age. It was discontinued because if even one of the bonded pair died the other died as well."

"If one? You make it sound like the bond could be formed between more than two people...." Loki pointed out.

"That is because it could be forged between more than two people. Unlike the rest of the Nine, the Jotun are far more open in their relationships. They do not consider it odd to have more than one lover. They have even had rulers who had multiple partners. Another thing to make them unique among the realms." Eir explained, looking at Loki meaningfully.

Loki seemed lost in his own thoughts. Jane ran a hand down his arm in comfort. "Well I still stand by my earlier suggestion. We can go to Jotunheim and ask around right?"

Loki shook his head. "The Jotun do like Asgard or the Aesir and after the way things ended with them last time.....Thor has killed several of them. **I** killed their king....they will...they won't even let us step one toe on their lands..."

"The council will vehemently oppose any association with the Jotun anyways. They do not have a good reputation among the people." Eir explained.

Jane frowned. "Oh you mean those bullshit stories about them being monsters? Yeah I read those. Biggest piece of bigotry I've read in some time. I refuse to believe it. I say we at least try to reach out to the Jotun. I mean not all of them can hate the Aesir right? We have to try."

"We'll think about it. Let's look for information on soul bonds here and on Alfheim and Vanaheim first. If we do not find any information here then we can consider going to the Jotun." Loki proposed. "Come on let's go back to your room. I run you through the basics of elvish etiquettes and tell you how their monarchy works."

Jane smiled. "Great! I can't believe I am going to another planet! Oh! I need to take my diary."

Jane hopped off the examination table and skipped out of the room. Eir smiled at her and Loki shook his head fondly. He turned to Eir. "Lady Eir. I shall see you later."

Loki followed Jane at a more sedate pace. He found her rummaging through the pile of books that had made a permanent residence in Thor's library. Jane pulled out a leather bound diary no doubt something Thor had given her and the pen Loki had conjured for her and and then wondered where to stash them. Loki couldn't help the smile that came over his face as he watched her.

"Here. Give it to me. I'll store it in my pocket dimension." He offered.

Jane smiled at him. "Thanks Lo. You're the best."

Loki stored Jane's diary and pen away then suggested they go find Thor. It was almost time to leave. They both moved to the living room where Loki explained how things worked in Alfheim and also the major social cues so Jane wouldn't be completely clueless beside Thor. Jane caught on quickly and Loki found she had a rather sharp mind when it came to reading between the lines. Not unexpected, Jane was one of the most intelligent humans on Midgard. She was laughing as Loki regaled the tale of Thor almost accidentally ending up married to an Elf Lord when a voice carried into the room.

"Thor! Thor!" It was Sif. Who just barged into the room not bothering to knock or even ask if she could come in. She paused when she saw Jane and Loki then scowled at Loki. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you doing here?" Sif asked accusingly, glaring at Loki.

Loki opened his mouth to retort but Jane put a hand on top of his and spoke over him. "We could ask you the same question. How can we help you Lady Sif?" Jane asked in a voice that sounded cold to Loki's ears.

Sif looked taken aback when Jane spoke to her directly. She looked her up and down. Loki was aware how Jane looked dressed in the finest garb Asgard had to offer, sitting with one of the Princes. She looked like she belonged here. Sif shuffled on her feet. "I....I was looking for Thor...."

"Thor is with the council. We are going to Alfheim in the afternoon. So if you want to speak to him you'll have to catch him before that." Jane replied easily.

Sif's brow furrowed, "You are going to Alfheim...with Thor...he did not tell me...."

Jane shrugged. "Well I haven't seen you around and Thor has been busy so he probably forgot about it. Loki is also coming with us. But I suppose that is a given. Is there anything else?"

Sif looked shocked at the clear dismissal. "No..."

"Great. Then if you'll excuse us we have to make some final arrangements. Perhaps you should join us sometime for dinner....invite the rest of the troop. I'd love to host you all." Jane said with a smile, getting up and pulling Loki along.

Loki walked behind Jane silently as she led them to his mother's garden, to the pool and sat on one of the stone benches. Jane took a deep breath. Loki watched her silently. "Sorry. I just did not like the tone she spoke to you in. Has she always behaved with you like this?"

Loki looked at his hands. "Sif never liked me. I don't know why. I never did anything to offend if I did I do not know what it was. She just....she just does not like me."

Jane hummed. "Let's just go back to the part where you were spilling all of Thor's beans."

Loki laughed. He continued his tale and then on a whim told several others to Jane. Unlike other people Jane did not seem outraged at the pranks Loki pulled on Thor. She found them funny and even suggested some of her own that they could pull on Thor together. Loki thanked the Norns for putting her in Thor's path. That was how Thor found them when he came to fetch them for their trip. Laughing and joking.

He smiled at them. "Well what do we have here? Are you having fun without me? I am feeling neglected again."

"Perfect. You get too much attention anyways. Someone has to balance it." Loki retorted.

Thor pulled at his hair. "Brat. What lies have you been spreading about me?"

"Is it true you almost married Lord Calen of Alfheim?" Jane asked with an innocent expression.

Thor looked mortified. "Loki! You promised you were never going to tell anyone about that!"

"I completely and utterly lied." Loki replied easily.

Thor glared at him. Jane stepped up to him. "Let's go! We are getting late aren't we? I want to see Alfheim"

Thor looked conflicted for a moment then pointed Mjolnir at Loki. "This is not over brat."

"Promises. Promises." Loki drawled.

Thor frowned for a moment more but then let it go. He was in too good of a mood and didn't actually mind Loki telling stories to Jane. He put an arm around Jane and led her to the stables. They got on one horse and Loki got on another. General Tyr only raised one eyebrow when he saw Loki and actually smiled slightly at Jane. They all proceeded to the Bifrost going through the city where Thor smiled at the people that stopped to wave at them. Heimdall was waiting at the Bifrost as usual.

"You look wonderful today Lady Jane." He complimented. "It is good that you agreed to this Loki." He added surprising Loki.

Heimdall inserted Hofund into the Bifrost mechanism, not waiting for a response from them. Thor wrapped an arm tightly around Jane, Loki came to stand beside them and Tyr and Armod stepped behind them. Heimdall turned Hofund and the Bifrost activated carrying them to Alfheim.

TBC....


	7. Chapter 7

King Myriil of Alfheim was rather delighted to see Thor even more so when he realized Loki had accompanied him. He seemed surprised by Jane's presence but accepted her easily. There was a feast in their honor of course. The light elves rather happy that Thor and Loki had managed to defeat their darker counter parts.

The light elves were tall and slender with long hair and pointed ears. They wore clothes in shades of green and brown. Their city was built in the heart of a forest and almost a part of it. The buildings seemingly having sprung from the trees which were huge with thick trunks big enough to fit two houses in them. Jane understood why Loki insisted Thor ditch the armor. It would have looked rude among these people.

Myriil led them to a banquet hall made entirely of glass with hanging plants and floating lights. Jane had never seen anything like it and she marveled at the delicate nature of the architecture. They were served food that had more greens and sweets than meat. Something that Loki seemed to enjoy. He did stop Jane from drinking the wine explaining that like the mead this to was too much for Jane's human body.

They ate and talked with some of the council members of Alfheim's court. Jane having an easier time fitting in thanks to Loki training her earlier. The elves seemed in awe of her especially when she understood everything as they explained how their magic worked. Eventually Thor was pulled aside by Myriil for more serious talk, Tyr and Armod shadowing him which left Loki and Jane at the high table with the Lords and Ladies.

"It is so wonderful to have you back Prince Loki" an elf said sipping some wine.

Loki raised one eyebrow. "Thank you Lord Aldon. I do not see Lady Ella today. How has she been?"

Aldon smiled at Loki and shifted in his chair so he was closer to him. "She simply does not enjoy the ruckus of a feast. She prefers more....private gatherings. You should visit us sometime. We'd love to...host you." Aldon said in a low voice, looking at Loki in a way that even Thor would not have missed the cue.

Jane blinked surprised. She hadn't expected someone to so blatantly proposition Loki. A strange emotion bubbled in her stomach. She didn't want Loki to spend time with some elf and his wife. Loki belonged with her and Thor. She found herself putting a hand on Loki's arm, tracing his arm and then taking his hand in hers. She felt Loki tense.

"We're sorry but Loki won't be able to visit you My Lord. He promised to show me around the city and Thor wishes to speak with him later." Jane said. She looked at Loki. "Can we go now? I would love to see the city."

Aldon looked at their joined hands and his eyebrows climbed to his forehead. Loki rushed to get up and leave. "Yes of course. Perhaps I can visit you and Lady Ella some other time Lord Aldon?"

Aldon blinked, then nodded. "Of course Prince Loki. Our door is always open should you no longer have any other..... commitments."

Loki smiled slightly and literally pulled Jane from her chair and led her out of the banquet hall. However instead of going into the city he led her through the forest to a secluded spot. With a thought Loki shielded them for sight. He let go of Jane's hand and pinched the bridges of his nose.

"Just what was that Jane? Now Aldon thinks you and I and Thor have an.... understanding. He's going spread that bit of gossip like wildfire!" Loki said fighting to control the volume of his voice.

Jane shifted uncomfortably. She went through everything she'd just done and said and realized how it looked from an outside perspective. "Sorry. I just....he was propositioning you and I didn't like that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a mess of things."

Loki sighed and put a hand under Jane's chin turning her face up so he could look in her eyes. "This isn't the first time Aldon has tried to get me in his bed. This isn't even the first time someone has propositioned me. I understand you worry about me but I can handle myself Jane. I don't need you to fight all my battles for me. I know it doesn't seem odd to you but you are the consort of the King of Asgard. Most of the Nine are very open minded but not so much that they wouldn't twist our friendship. I'm not forcing you to not be yourself but please be more careful in public. Like I always tell Thor, not everyone has the best of intentions. Yes?"

Jane stared at Loki. He was so very close to her, looking at her with his beautiful green eyes. She nodded and was rewarded with a genuine smile that made Loki's face light up. Then to her surprise, Loki stroked her cheek fondly and kissed her forehead. Jane was frozen on the spot. Loki never initiated any touches, it had always been Jane or Thor. This was....new

Loki grinned at her. "Come on then. I'll show you the whispering flowers. They are lovely. You'd like them."

Loki turned and started walking away. Jane followed him, lost in thought. She knew exactly what emotion she'd felt earlier. It was jealousy. Aldon made a suggestive comment and it made Jane jealous. Because she couldn't stand the thought of Loki like that with Aldon or with anyone else. Because she wanted Loki like that. "Fuck" she whispered to herself.

"Huh?" Loki asked turning around. "Did you say something?"

Jane blinked, then composed herself. "Nope! It's nothing. I didn't say anything. Weren't you showing me around? Come on let's go. Lots of exploring to do."

Loki looked at her confused. "Alright...." Loki led Jane through the city and showed her the various sights there were. He explained each one animatedly, clearly in his element. Smiling at the locals and even stopping to chat with some of them. Jane with her new found discovery found Loki was beautiful in everything he did.

Where Thor was all strength, Loki was all grace. He had a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue but when all the masks came off the Loki underneath was kind and gentle and caring. He seemed to enjoy the company of the common people far more than the nobility and didn't particularly care for formalities. Jane wondered how a guy like him ended up attacking Earth wanting to rule it. Because the Loki she saw now looked like he would abhor the very idea. There had to be more to the story and Jane vowed to herself that she would get to the bottom of it one way or another.

On the other side, Thor sighed as he sipped sweet wine. Myriil and he had talked and came to an agreement on the trade between Alfheim and Asgard. Thor allowing more freedom to Alfheim than Odin did. He didn't see anything wrong with it. He wanted the people to be happy first and foremost.

Myriil looked at him. "I dare say Prince Thor that the mantle of King suits you. Your storms seemed to have calmed. A touch brought by the lovely Lady Jane I presume?"

Thor chuckled. "Oh hardly. She is a storm herself when she wills it. It is more the hardship of recent years that force me to look beyond myself. For the better I hope."

Myriil nodded. "It must have been hard to lose Prince Loki like that. We heard he tried to conquer Midgard. Surely there is more to the tale? I do not believe Prince Loki would ever harm innocent people like this."

Thor sighed. "Aye. I believe Loki was under the influence of some dark being. To date it remains a mystery how he even survived the void. I only know that when he came through it he was not the man I remembered. Father cared not for the reasons and simply set a heavy punishment on Loki's shoulders. He won't speak now. He has lost faith that anyone would listen."

Myriil nodded. "I and even King Freyr tried to convince King Odin to at least ask how Loki came in the possession of the Chitauri but he refused to listen to us. Had it not been for Queen Frigga he might have executed Loki. I...I have sent some of my people beyond the Nine to seek the truth. Shall I share with you what they found Thor?"

Thor leaned forward in interest. "What do you want in return?" For surely Myriil would not do Thor this favor out of the goodness of his heart.

Myriil hesitated but then leaned forward as well. "In return I want you to promise you will rule Asgard even after Odin wakes. I want you to promise the power will change hands and that the change will hold. I also want you to promise Prince Loki will not be cast away like he was in King Odin's reign"

Thor's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why? What do you gain from me ruling Asgard? Why would you want Loki to remain in Asgard?"

"All in due time. Even the walls have ears. I shall tell you everything but not now. Rest assured I have my reasons. Do you wish to hear what my people found of the Chitauri?" Myriil asked.

Thor bit his lip. This was a dangerous path to walk on but there was so little he knew of the circumstances around Loki ending up on Midgard, he needed all the information he could get. He nodded. "I do not intend to hand over Asgard's throne. Nor do I intend to part with Loki anytime soon. I want to hear what you have to say."

Myriil licked his lips. "Right. I sent my spies all the way to the Andromeda Galaxy. They asked around and the Chitauri are rumoured to be bred by a dark being called the Other. They say he perished in the battle you fought on Midgard. But before that he was feared for his ability to twist people's minds. He served a Lord who is ten times worse than him. A fanatic who is said to have a wish to control the whole universe. If Prince Loki fell into the hands of these beings then it is no surprise he was not himself when he supposedly attacked Midgard."

Thor's brow furrowed. He worried for Loki. What horrors had his brother experienced? What atrocities had he borne? Thor did not know but he would find out. He nodded to Myriil. "Thank you King Myriil. I shall take your leave. I find I have a sudden urge to see Loki now."

Myriil nodded. "Of course. But Thor...my advice is that you not push Loki. Let him speak in his own time."

Thor nodded, leaving. Outside Tyr and Armod were waiting for him. He waved them off telling them he would see them at night when it was time to return. He instead went in search of Loki and by extension Jane. He found them in the local square. Loki animatedly telling a tale to a gaggle of children that watched him with wide eyes. Thor felt warmth fill his stomach. He wanted to hide Loki and Jane away, keep them from all the darkness in the world. But he knew it would be a fool's errand. So instead he told himself he would do his best to protect them. To always stand by them.

Jane spotted Thor at the edge and walked over to him, getting on her tip toes to place a chaste kiss on his lips. Then she stood beside him watching as Loki conjured a burst of butterflies that made the children giggle.

"He's really good with children. I'm surprised mostly because half the time Loki acts like a moody teenager himself. I didn't expect it." Jane admitted.

Thor smiled. "He was always good with children. He used to go with mother when she taught the young mages in Asgard. He picked it up from her. Sometimes I think if Loki hadn't been a prince he might have been a tutor somewhere teaching children."

Jane nodded. "That's what I told him the other day. He's really good at teaching. Maybe he can carry on your mother's legacy. You should talk to him about it sometime."

"I will." Thor agreed easily. "Did you two have all the fun without me again?"

Jane laughed. "If you call going around and discussing various scientific theroies on an alien planet fun then yeah we had a lot of fun"

"Thor would probably find rolling around in the dirt with his idiotic friends fun." Loki said coming up to them. The children having dispersed as his story ended.

"It's called sparing and it's how I manage to beat you everytime so maybe you should not insult it." Thor retorted.

"You beat me because you have a hammer that gives you an unfair advantage." Loki pointed out.

Thor stepped forward. "Is that a challenge brat?"

Loki stepped in Thor's space. "Bring it on oaf."

"It is a deal then. We'll spar when we go back and settle the score once and for all." Thor stated and held out his hand.

Loki shook it and nodded. "Ok.....I guess I'll be the score keeper then. Is there anything else we need to do while we're here?" Jane asked.

Thor shook his head. "We have a ball tonight. But we're free at the moment. I was thinking of retiring to our room."

"You both go ahead. I want to visit some old friends. I'll see you both tonight" Loki was gone before Jane or Thor could ask him any questions.

Thor shrugged and turned to Jane. "Shall we?" Jane who had been frowning at the spot Loki had disappeared from nodded. Thor led her through Myriil's palace to the quarters assigned to them where Jane sighed and let her hair out of the braid. Thor set Mjolnir on a table and removed his cape. Jane came to sit beside him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"What did the elf King want?" She asked.

Thor shrugged. "Nothing much. He wants Alfheim to be a little more free and be allowed to make more choices on who they should or should not trade with. I agreed, it is no bother at all."

Jane hummed. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Thor sat straighter and looked at Jane. "Of course Jane. Tell me what's on your mind."

Jane fingered her dress for a moment before looking at Thor. "When I went to see Eir today she actually suggested something that might help us match our lifespan."

Thor turned to face Jane completely at that. "I didn't think there was anything that could do that. What is it?"

Jane looked at her hands. "A soul bond. She said we could form a soul bond between us and that way my life force would be tied to yours so I would live as long as you."

"Tie our life force? So you if I was to die tomorrow you would die too..." Thor realized.

Jane shook her head. "Yes but I would be able to live as long as you. Don't look at the negatives Thor. Eir said my sedir channels are responding well to me and even Loki thinks I can not just strengthen them but also expand them. I'm not saying we have to go for the bond right this moment. But it's certainly something to consider isn't it? Eir said the Jotun used to marry like that all the time. She even said they'd form soul bonds between more than two people. So it's been tried and tested."

Thor frowned. "Yes but are there any side effects? How do we even form a bond? I am not that adept at sedir and you do not know it at all. How can we be sure we will succeed?"

Jane bit her lip. "I don't know about that....I actually don't know much about soul bonds. Loki doesn't know much about them either. Eir says the only real information we can find on it would be on Jotunheim. But Loki wants to try finding information on the other realms first. I'm pretty sure that's where he disappeared off to now."

Thor nodded. "Alright then we sit on this for now. I would like to know everything about soul bonds before we make a choice."

"That's fair. I just wanted to let you know it was something that was on the table. I had another question....well it's not a question.... it's more something I wanted information on... it's just... we're having sex now and I like that but....uh..what about birth control? I mean I am not ready for kids yet and I don't know if Asgard has condoms and why are you blushing...?" Jane asked surprised.

Thor blushed harder. "Oh...uh...I.....along with being the God of Thunder..... I'm also.... I'm also the God of Fertility...so I can control that for you.....I mean to say I can make sure you don't concieve until you want to. If you don't want me to use my power on you I can instruct the servants to add moon tea to your diet. It would prevent any surprise pregnancies. I actually should have done it already."

Jane tilted her head. "You're also the God of Fertility? What exactly does that mean?"

Thor sighed putting his hands on the center table which had a vase of flowers. He closed his eyes and concentrated, reaching out to his secondary power. The flowers grew bigger and more petals uncurled. Jane watched them, fascinated.

"You can make things grow? Is it limited to plants or could you for example revive a barren land or a burnt forest or something?" Jane asked curious.

Thor chuckled. "I have actually revived barren lands before. And my powers of fertility work on all beings capable of reproducing. I inherited it from my mother. I woke up one spring morning with vines all over my room. Loki found it hilarious."

"I bet he did. I think I prefer to go with the moon tea. No offense but I'd like to be able to have all the control I can on my body." Jane explained.

"Of course dear. I understand. Did any of the Lords or Ladies give you trouble?" Thor asked

"No. Not really. Lord Aldon really seems to like Loki. He said he and his wife would love to host Loki if you know what I mean...." Jane trailed off

Thor growled. "That bastard is at it again?! I already had a conversation with Aldon about keeping away from Loki last century. I'll talk to him again."

Jane hurried to dissuade Thor from that idea. "Uh.... I'm pretty sure Loki can handle the guy. I mean I'm pretty sure Loki is not going to let some creep get away with it right?"

Thor shook his head. "Oh no. Aldon has been trying to get Loki in bed since Loki was a teenager. He doesn't seem to understand Loki is not interested. I'll set him straight."

"Oh." Jane didn't know how to respond to that. She really hoped Thor didn't create a scene. What with the accidental message she'd sent to Aldon this afternoon. It would be a disaster.

Thor brushed a thumb across her furrowed brow. "Don't worry. I won't cause a scene. I will simply give Aldon some sound advice."

Jane looked at Thor. "Is this advice going to include flexing your muscles and threateningly cutting meat on your plate?"

Thor laughed. "Maybe. You know we have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves....and the ball is at night.....maybe I can give a better demonstration of my powers of fertility." Thor said flexing aforementioned muscles.

Jane giggled despite herself. "That was terrible! Besides you'll have to catch me first!" Jane said running off. Thor looked surprised for a moment but then charged after her.

Deep in the forests of Alfheim, Loki made his way down a path that was not easily visible. He could walk it only because he had walked it several times in the past. Finally he came to a clearing with a small hut.

Loki sighed, the last time he had come here, he left with an idea that had ultimately led to a lot of pain. But he needed to think. To truly think. For the first time Loki willingly shed his Aesir skin and let his Jotun form take over. He walked up to the hut and the door opened for him.

Everything the hut was in pristine condition even though no one had been here in several years. This was Loki's place. A place where he could shed all the masks and just be himself. He laid on the lone bed in one corner and stared at the ceiling. So much had happened in such short time... Loki's emotions were a mess. He was positive now that somehow he had fallen in love with Jane Foster. A woman who was already committed to his brother. How did Loki manage to tangle himself like this? To him it seemed as if he always ended up wanting the wrong things. Not to mention older emotions that had begun to resurface. Thor was being so kind to him, that Loki had a hard time remembering why he was supposed to have left Asgard already.

This road would only cause Loki pain. Even a blind man would tell Loki that Jane and Thor loved each other and belonged together. Loki should remove himself from the equation now while there was still time. He really should. But his heart refused to agree. The last few years had been so painful, first the darkness of the void then the stillness of that blasted cell. Jane and Thor accepted him easily never once bringing up the past. Loki could almost pretend the last few years hadn't happened at all. Almost. If he left he would be alone again and Loki couldn't stand being alone again. He had lied when he said he didn't know about soul bonds. Of course he knew. Loki who loved all things forbidden had searched high and low for knowledge of the soul bonds and finally found a lone old Jotun in the outskirts of Vanaheim. A big man who once fed enough wine spilled all the secrets of Jotunheim. That was how Loki knew he could lure the Jotun to the vault in the first place.

The old Jotun was gone, Loki having poisoned his wine, making it look like he'd drunk himself to death. After all dead men could not spread tales but a living one might and Loki couldn't take that risk. But still he'd learnt much from the old Jotun including the soul bonds, how they can be formed and how they tied souls together inexplicably. It would do more than give Jane a long life span, Loki suspected she might inherit a portion of Thor's power. Might even be able to wield Mjolnir.

A smile formed on Loki's face. Oh how that would pain Odin to see his prized possession in the hands of a simple human woman. That alone would be worth all the trouble. Loki sighed and turned on his side. He wanted to get drunk and disappear somewhere, maybe fuck all these stupid emotions out of his body. But that was not possible, despite doing better Jane was still human. Loki would feel better only once both her and Thor were tied together permanently. Unlike Thor, Loki was under no illusion that Odin was going to accept Jane anytime soon even if her sedir channels aided in slowing her age. The only solution was to tie Thor and Jane in a way that even Odin could not separate them.

Loki huffed and got up. He pried open a floorboard and pulled his journals out. These were journals detailing the secret paths between the realms. They also had knowledge of many many obscure things that were considered to be lost. He pulled out the journal he had recorded information about soul bonds in. Loki used a spell to change his handwriting so Thor wouldn't recognize it. He placed the remaining journals back and hid them again. Loki would help Jane and Thor, he would make sure that whenever Odin woke he would not be able to hurt them then....then as much as it would pain Loki, he would leave. He would rather spend a thousand years alone than ruin Thor and Jane's life with his selfish desires. He might come back here and live here in the forests of Alfheim or he might leave the Nine realms entirely and make a home elsewhere. He hadn't made up his mind about that yet.

Loki left the hut, the door closing behind him. The whole place was shielded with spells upon spells so no one would stumble on it even accidentally. Loki tucked the journal he had taken in his coat and made the long trek back to the city. From Asgard, Heimdall watched as Loki made his way back. He had finally found a way around Loki's spells that kept him hidden from Heimdall's sight. Heimdall did not begrudge Loki the need for some privacy but he had sensed Loki's intentions of leaving. Heimdall didn't want that. He had differences with Loki in the past but when he looked back on them now, he regretted the way he had handled things. Perhaps a lot could have been avoided if the people around Loki had been more accepting of him, Heimdall included. He had every intention of doing better now and in that interest Heimdall noted the hut. It might come in handy should the day arrive that Loki acted on his desires to leave.

Loki went to his own quarters in Myriil's palace. He had spent the remainder of the afternoon and a better part of the evening in fetching the journal. He stored it in his pocket dimension. He would show it to Jane and Thor later. Loki took a quick bath and then stood in front of his bed in his trousers. He emptied his 'closet' another pocket dimension where he stored clothes and contemplated what to wear. He was confused between a green and gold and a green and black tunic when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in" Loki replied absentmindedly, wondering if the green and black would make him look too aloof.

Then he realized he wasn't dressed yet and looked up sighing in relief when it was only Thor. He went back to looking at his clothes. Thor came to stand beside Loki. "What are you doing?"

Loki looked at him and shrugged. "I can't decide what to wear."

Thor groaned. "Not you too. Jane made me choose between three red dresses that all looked the same to me. Just pick something. Everything you own is green anyways. What difference does it make?"

Loki shoved Thor. "That is not true! I own things that are not green. And of course it makes a difference! I want to look nice."

"Loki I am pretty sure you can look nice in rags whilst being covered in dirt. You're beautiful no matter what. Just pick something." Thor replied automatically.

Loki blinked at Thor. "Did you just call me beautiful? You know this isn't how I really look don't you? I bet you would not say that if you knew what I really looked like. But I suppose you're right. It doesn't matter what I wear does it? It's not my true form anyways."

Loki waved a hand and he was wearing the black and green tunic, the other one banished to his pocket dimension again. He turned to leave but Thor caught his arm, looking at him seriously. "I meant what I said Loki. It doesn't matter if your skin is pale or blue. You are beautiful either way."

"You cannot know that. You've never seen my Jotun form." Loki said softly.

"Then show me." Thor insisted. "Show me so I can look at you and tell you, you're still just as beautiful."

Loki shook his head and pulled his arm from Thor's grip. "We're going to be late. Come along."

He left before Thor could stop him. Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. Jane was right, he needed to have a talk with Loki. Thor went after Loki and found him at the end of the hall with Jane. He walked fast to catch up to them.

"Oh hey Thor. I was just telling Loki that he has to dance with me today. He avoided it last time too. Tell him he can't keep doing that." Jane said smiling.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Last time you were drunk and thought it an achievement to have counted that you have five fingers on one hand and I stand by my opinion of feasts being a waste of time."

Jane looked at him sadly. "Does this mean you're not going to show up for my birthday party? I thought we were friends. Won't you celebrate my birthday?"

Loki shuffled on his feet. "Uh....no that's not what I meant. I just don't like talking to people....other people not you....I like talking to you....and Thor...and..."

Jane laughed, breaking her act. "Oh relax Loki. I'm just messing with you. I can totally relate to the feeling of just wanting to curl up on a couch and have popcorn and watch a movie instead of having to remember what the ten different kinds of butter knifes are supposed to be for."

"You are really missing Midgard's food aren't you?" Loki observed.

"Maybe? I mean not that the seven course meals are not nice but sometimes a girl just wants a cheeseburger and fries you know?" Jane sighed.

"We'll get you some from Midgard tomorrow." Thor promised.

"Yes. Yes. That is all fine. Now can we move along? The sooner we get over with this the sooner we can go back home" Loki insisted.

They all went back to the banquet hall where the tables had been cleared to make room for the ball. The page announced their arrival and Loki belatedly realized that he should probably have let Jane and Thor go first and then followed them. Now it just sounded like they were all together. No doubt Aldon was going to add fuel to that fire. He did get some looks, but Jane and Thor were too lost in each other to notice it and Loki picked a corner to disappear in which gave the people very little to gossip about. As in the feast back home, Thor and Jane danced, looking very much like the couple in love that they were. Thor took Jane around and they chatted with some people. Jane seemed to be fitting in well enough so Loki didn't bother moving from his spot.

A servant offered him wine and though Loki knew it was alcoholic and therefore he should probably refrain from it, he still took it and drained the whole cup. The servant seemed surprised but kept supplying the wine and Loki kept drinking it. Soon he felt a buzz and everything seemed hazy around the edges. Loki hiccuped and placed the umpteenth empty glass back on the tray. He wanted to go back home but he didn't want to be alone. Loki pouted. Why was he in this corner all alone?

He stomped his foot. It was all the oaf's fault! Bastard left him all alone. Loki sniffed, he even took Jane! Loki weaved his way through the crowd. He wanted to go back home and sleep in his huge bed with Jane and the oaf. Right now. Loki spotted them at the edge of the hall, trying to slip away. They were leaving him! He hurried through the crowd and caught up with them just as they were about to turn a corner.

"Traitor!" Loki yelled, making them both jump in surprise.

Thor turned around and saw Loki looking angry or well trying to. He had a flush high on his cheeks and he was clearly drunk. "Loki? How much did you drink?"

Loki frowned momentarily distracted by Thor's question. How much had he drunk? He tried to count on his fingers but then he ran out of them so he pouted, looking at his hands sadly. "I don't have enough fingers to count...."

Thor bit his lip to keep from laughing. He held out his hands towards Loki. "Here you can use mine and yours together to count."

Loki's face lit up. "Really? You're so nice, oaf." Loki said happily counting first his fingers and then Thor's but he forgot what he was supposed to be counting so he simply counted how many fingers they had together. "Twenty!" Loki exclaimed

Then he remembered why he was chasing after Thor and Jane in the first place. He glared at Thor. "Oaf! You were leavily-leavbily-no that's not right..leaving!-you were leaving me! Traitor!" Loki crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out pouting furiously now.

"Aww. You're adorable" Jane pinched his cheeks. "We weren't leaving you Loki. We are all going back to Asgard together later aren't we? Thor and I just wanted some alone time before that."

"Oh. Is it because you really really love him?" Loki asked with wide eyes.

Jane smiled at him. "Yeah that's why. But we would have come to fetch you later. We weren't going to just leave you here."

Loki nodded, bobbing his head more than necessary. "Ok. I was just worried. Because I love you and I love Thor and I don't want to be alone. I was alone in that stupid cell and before that in the void and I didn't like it and I don't want to be alone again."

Jane's gaze softened, she stroked Loki's cheek and he purred happily. "Don't worry Lo, we're not ever going to leave you. You never have to be alone ever again."

"Aye. You can stay with us as long as you want Loki." Thor reassured, brushing Loki's hair from his face.

Loki threw his arms around them both. "Thank you! You don't mind that I'm actually blue and a monster?"

Jane and Thor hugged Loki back, then looked at each other over his shoulder. Loki seemed to not want to let them go. "No Loki, you're not a monster even if you are sometimes blue. We promise we love you either way." Thor said. "Come on we can go to my and Jane's room and you can sleep yes?"

Loki let them go and shook his head. "No! Want to go home and sleep in our bed!" He took Jane and Thor's hand and before they could react they found themselves in Loki's room, on his bed, Loki between them once again.

Loki turned on his side this time burying his face in Thor's chest and wrapping his arms around him like an octopus. He was snoring in a matter of seconds. Thor shook his head. "Well I suppose we are sleeping here again. We left Tyr and Armod in Alfheim."

Jane grimaced. "Yeah...I'll tell one of the guards to inform Heimdall we're back and they're still there."

Thor nodded. "Yes please do. Otherwise they'll think someone kidnapped us."

Jane smiled at that. She poked her head out of Loki's room and ordered the nearest guard to inform Heimdall that she, Thor and Loki had teleported but Tyr and Armod were still in Alfheim. The guard looked extremely confused but bowed and obeyed her. Jane closed the door and let her hair out of the complicated braid it had been in. Thor had managed to kick his own boots off, Jane removed Loki's for him, then got in bed beside him, wrapping an arm around him so her fingers touched Thor. She unbuttoned the top few buttons of Loki's tunic so it wasn't choking him and then helped Thor wriggle out of his outer jacket.

Thor sighed and looped an arm over Loki's maneuvering him so the brat could breathe properly. Loki was such a child sometimes. But tonight Thor had seen just how deep Loki's insecurities went. Thor tightened his hold on Loki. Jane looked at him over Loki's shoulder. "He's really scared of being alone. What happened to him Thor? What was the void?"

Thor looked at Loki sadly. "When I went to stop Loki that time I first met you, I broke the Bifrost. When I did, Loki and I we ended up hanging over the edge. Father caught me and I caught Loki. But Loki.....he wanted father to be proud of him and father, he....he said no. Loki couldn't bear it. He....he let go Jane. He tried to kill himself. I don't know what happened to him after that. He was missing for a whole year. Heimdall searched high and low for Loki, even mother exhausted her sedir looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Then he showed up a year later on Midgard with an army and all these ideas in his head. I don't know.....I don't know what happened to him in that year...."

Jane bit her lip. "This doesn't add up. If Loki's state of mind when you last saw him was so brittle that he tried to kill himself how did he end up wanting to subjugate an entire race with an army no less. That is a very big jump. Didn't you ask him what happened? Wasn't there a trial when you brought Loki back?"

Thor shook his head. "There was no trial. Odin denied Loki the right to defend himself publicly. He did not even allow me to be at Loki's sentencing. He banned anyone from speaking to Loki. I tried to sneak into the dungeon but he caught me and then ordered me to look after the realms. Until you accidentally stumbled on the Aether, I could scarcely stay on Asgard for more than a day. I never got a chance to ask him what happened."

Jane frowned. Loki shifted mumbling in his sleep. Jane looked at him sadly. "So he's been dealing with all the trauma whatever it was on his own. No wonder he's so scared of being alone." Jane laid her head back on her pillow. "All we can do is make sure Loki feels he has a place here. I don't think pushing him to speak will get us anywhere. But we could try to persuade him to do it. He needs it."

Thor laid his head back down as well. "I agree. I worry Loki is going to end up hurting himself like this. I want him to open up but I don't want him to feel forced into it. We see about it tomorrow. Goodnight dear."

Jane smiled sleepily. "Goodnight Thor."

Jane closed her eyes and went to sleep and Thor did the same. In his sleep Loki smiled, on the room of his window frost covered the glass and formed a triquetra.

TBC....


	8. Chapter 8

Early morning found Loki in bed in between Thor and Jane again. It was still dark outside when Loki peered at the window. Thor had his arm around them both and Jane was pressed to his back. Loki found he didn't want to move. He should but he didn't want to. A thought crept in his mind about how the Jotun took on multiple lovers and for a moment he wanted that. He wanted both Thor and Jane. He wanted to wake up every morning between them. But it was a dream that could never come true. Loki sighed.

Thor groaned pressing closer, one big hand sleepily patting Loki's face. "Ge to sleep. Too early. Jane! Jane! Tell Lo too early to be serious." Thor said shaking Jane a bit.

"Cheeseburger....go to sleep....." Jane mumbled in her sleep.

Loki snorted despite himself. Thor had gone back to sleep and didn't hear Jane's mumbling. Loki bit his lip. He should get up. He really should. But Jane and Thor snuggled closer and it warmed Loki's heart. He decided to get up in two minutes but before he could make good on that resolution he found his eyes closing and he fell asleep again.

The next time Loki woke up it was because Thor was trying to get out of bed. Thor smiled at him sheepishly. "Sorry. I need to go to the bathroom. Didn't mean to wake you. It's still early, barely after dawn go back to sleep."

This time Loki was still in the clutches of sleep so he nodded and turned wrapping himself around Jane. He felt more than saw Thor stroke his hair and then he was asleep again. A few minutes later he felt Thor return to bed and wrap an arm around them both and sighed contently. He thought he felt a kiss at his temple but he might have imagined it.

The final time Loki woke up drenched in sweat, with a start. He had a horrible dream where the monster in the void came to Asgard and made Loki kill everyone he loved. Loki looked at his hands, making sure they were not covered in blood. He tried to control his breathing but couldn't. There was a tremor in his hands.

A small hand rubbed his back in comfort. "Loki? Easy. You need to take deep breaths. Here follow me."

Jane placed one of his hands over her heart and took deep breaths. Loki followed automatically. Thor came back to bed and brushed Loki's hair from his face, taking his other hand and placing it over his heart, letting Loki feel his heartbeats. Together they managed to calm Loki down.

"Bad dream?" Thor asked. Loki nodded mutely. Thor wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his temple. "It was not real. You are here in Asgard with me and Jane. Nothing will harm you here."

Jane also wrapped an arm around Loki's waist and stroked his cheek. Loki closed his eyes and let them comfort him for a few minutes. "Thank you." He said quietly after sometime.

Jane kissed his cheek. "You're welcome Loki. Always. Do you have nightmares often?" She asked looking concerned.

Loki shook his head. "Not anymore. They have reduced in the last few days..."

Thor frowned at him. "Days? So you've been having them all along before that? Oh Lo. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Loki shrugged. "I was in prison. No one cares if the prisoner can't sleep peacefully."

Thor looked extremely guilty. The why escaped Loki but he didn't want to think about the past so he changed the topic. "Why are you both in my room again?"

"Well a certain, pretty Jotun was super worried we were going to abandon him on Alfheim and really really wanted to sleep in 'our' bed not the one on Alfheim so he teleported us. And well since this bed is awesome we decided to have a sleepover. Again." Jane teased

Loki felt the ferocity of the blush that was now on his face. Thor chuckled. "Yes apparently he really really loves us so how could we refuse?"

Loki blushed harder and covered his face with his hands. Had he really said all that last night? Jane laughed. "Oh don't be embarrassed Lo! You're adorable when you're drunk. You pout a lot you know."

Loki looked at Jane offended. "I am not adorable! And I don't pout!" He said pouting again.

"Aww. You're doing it again!" Jane pinched his cheeks like he was a child. Loki batted her hands away.

"Stop that! I'll have you know many people fear my very name! Get out of my bed!" Loki huffed.

Thor chuckled and dug his fingers in Loki's sides, knowing well enough that he was ticklish. "Be nice brat."

Loki kicked Thor's shin. "Stop it. Get your paws off me. Oaf!"

Jane caught on and looked delighted. She and Thor both attacked Loki, tickling him till he couldn't hold back and was laughing. "S-stop p-please!" Jane and Thor grinned at Loki while he tried to catch his breath again. Loki looked at them both and for a moment had a crazy thought that he should kiss them. He shook his head to dispel it and pushed them away.

"I am hungry and I want to eat so off you two go. I will see you in a few minutes." Loki said trying to push Thor off the bed.

Thor looked at Jane with faux sadness. "You hear that Jane? Our pretty Jotun is throwing us out for some tarts. We've been cast aside!" He mourned.

"No! What are we going to do now?!" Jane joined in looking at Loki with big round eyes.

"You have each other. I'm pretty sure you'll be fine." Loki said looking at the bed more than Thor and Jane.

"Never. You're a part of this family Lo. Don't ever think we will be fine with your absence." Jane replied looking at Loki seriously.

"Family?" Loki asked looking overwhelmed.

"Of course. Isn't that what we are?" Thor asked "And Jane is right Loki. Don't ever think your presence is taken lightly. No one can take your place. Now how about we leave you to it? We'll see you at breakfast."

Thor and Jane vacated the bed, Thor picking up his fallen jacket and Jane slipping into her shoes after kissing Loki on the cheek again which made Loki blush. Thor did the same making a show of kissing Loki which made him scrunch his nose and shove Thor away. Jane and Thor both laughed at that. They both left after Loki assured them he would show up for breakfast.

The room felt empty with only Loki in it. He sighed, getting off the bed and going through his morning routine. Loki pulled his journal from his pocket dimension and decided to hand it to Thor and Jane over breakfast. Then he was going to make some final arrangements and get away from this realm before he made a stupid decision. No matter how good Thor and Jane were to him there was no place for Loki on Asgard. By staying he was only prolonging the inevitable.

He made his way through the hallways and stopped at a balcony overlooking the garden. His mother often stood here and looked out at the gardens. Loki missed her terribly. He wanted to set things right with her, tell her she was his mother by bond if not by blood. But it was too late. What was done was done it could never be undone. Loki wondered what kind of queen Jane would be.

"Penny for your thoughts Loki?" Fandral asked.

Loki turned and saw him dressed in armor, looking a bit exhausted. "Fandral? Where have you been? You look....tired. Are you well?"

Fandral sighed coming to stand beside Loki, leaning his elbows on the railing. "Yeah... I'm fine. I went on a trip to Vanaheim. Got back last night to find Sif practically breathing fire. Thor really go on a trip with you and Lady Jane without telling her? Also you should know the servants have been gossiping that Thor and Jane spent two nights in your room. Some are even saying you're all.... involved..."

Loki winced. "Well we're not. That's ridiculous. We were talking and drinking so we fell asleep by the fireplace. It's not the first time Thor along with someone else has spent the night in my room. I don't see what the issue is. As for Sif, Thor is not her servant that he is going to go around making sure she has an account of his every minute and second."

Fandral shrugged. "That's what I said. But you know how she is. I told her with Lady Jane around it's only natural that Thor might spend more time with her and in turn might not do things the way he used to before. Personally I think we've been giving Lady Jane the cold shoulder by not inviting her to a private feast among us friends. I'm surprised Thor isn't angry about that."

Loki nodded. "Jane was wondering if she'd done something to drive you all away. I told her you were all busy in this and that. Is Hogun back from Vanaheim? Maybe you can invite Thor and Jane for a drink tonight."

Fandral perked up. "Yeah that's a good idea! Hogun's coming back this afternoon. Where's Thor? I can invite him now so he has time to clear his schedule."

"Oh...uh... he's in his...I mean his and Jane's room. I was actually going there for breakfast." Loki admitted.

Fandral swung an arm around Loki's shoulder. "Perfect. Let's surprise them then."

Loki smiled. Of all of Thor's friends, Fandral was the only one who actually tried to get along with Loki and he was sensible enough that he listened when Loki was saying something. Fandral and Loki walked to Thor and Jane's room, Fandral keeping the arm around Loki's shoulder the whole time.

He knocked on the door when they were there. "Come in!" Jane's voice called from inside. Loki turned the corner to the dining room and Thor perked up when he saw Fandral hanging off his shoulder.

"Fandral! Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you. Come sit. Eat something." Thor said brightly.

Loki took his usual seat beside Thor and Fandral chose to sit beside him. "Eh...I went to visit Hogun for a while. He's coming back in the afternoon. I see you brought the lovely Lady Jane along from Midgard. It's good to have you here My Lady" Fandral smiled at Jane.

Jane smiled back. "Please call me Jane. Thor promised to take me to your usual bar but the dusty old men have been keeping him busy."

"Dusty old men? You mean the council?" Fandral laughed. "I love it! That's what I'm calling them from now on. I was actually going to invite you and Thor to join us at the bar tonight. If you're not too busy Thor and if you don't mind Jane."

Thor nodded. "I'll be free by night. We can go after dinner."

"Yeah I don't mind. Loki's coming too right? I mean he is invited too isn't he?" Jane's voice had the same edge it had when she'd spoken to Sif yesterday.

"Sure" Fandral agreed easily. "That is if his Highness doesn't think it too lowly to drink with us poor common people." Fandral added looking at Loki with his best puppy dog eyes.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't let Sif hear you call her common. She'd riot. I don't mind the drinking it's the poor decision making afterwards that worries me."

"Don't worry Lo we'll take of you." Jane promised. "We'll be there tonight Fandral."

Fandral blinked looking from Jane to Thor who shrugged and Loki who only looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Alright then...."

Fandral picked some food for himself and ate, chatting with Thor and Jane and Loki easily. He left all smiles saying he'd see them all in the evening. Thor got up saying he had a meeting and Loki followed him wanting to speak with him. He was contemplating how to broach the topic of soul bonds when Thor spoke up.

"Lo, I was thinking we should go to Midgard and fetch some food for Jane for lunch." Thor suggested.

"Uh....sure. We can do that. Do you know where to get food from? Do you even have Midgardian money?" Loki asked.

Thor nodded. "I have some money. Anthony gave me this square that stores money in it. He said it would work anywhere. We can go to Puente Antiguo. I know Isabel who owns an inn. We can buy food from her. She likes me"

Loki still looked apprehensive but nodded. "Fine. I will see you at noon. I will be teaching Jane horse riding. She....insisted I do it."

"Thanks Loki! I was thinking about it but couldn't find the time for it. I was....I was also hoping you could help me draft a new treaty with Alfheim. You're much better at it..." Thor trailed off.

Loki frowned. "Are you sure the council would like that? I thought I was not to be involved in any actual politics."

"Well...I have been speaking to the council about reinstating you fully. I....I mean you are already pardoned and they know you have a better mind for the politics. I don't see why we have to keep you from being involved. Besides I'll introduce you and then sneak Jane in as well. She needs to learn the ropes and it will be easier if we are both there for it." Thor explained.

Loki nodded. That made sense. Though it would mean delaying his plans again. But then Loki didn't want Jane to be scared away by the dusty old men. He could teach her. She was a quick learner. It might not take so much time. "Alright. I'll help you with the draft."

Thor smiled. "Thanks Lo. I have to go now. I'll meet you at the Bifrost at noon sharp."

Thor walked off. Loki sighed and headed back to Jane. Maybe he could talk about his journal at lunch. After all it seemed he was going to be staying in Asgard much longer now. Loki found Jane in the library taking notes.

"Oh hey Lo. I thought you'd be with Thor today morning so I decided to catch up on some stuff." She said.

Loki sat down shrugging. "It's fine. I am going to be with Thor in the afternoon. He needs help drafting a treaty for Alfheim. I thought I'd take you horse riding today but we can study if you want."

Jane brought her chair closer to Loki's. "Yeah. We can do the horse riding tomorrow. I was trying to understand how this dream communication thing works. Over here..."

Loki spent the better part of the morning teaching Jane more theories on how sedir worked. As it neared afternoon, he made an excuse about needing to see to some superficial duties Thor had handed him and made his way to the Bifrost. Thor was there waiting for Loki, in Midgardian garb with an umbrella that Loki knew was Mjolnir. With a thought Loki transformed himself into his female form, wearing a black pantsuit that showed off her figure.

She stepped up to Thor. "Shall we?"

Thor nodded. "Yes. Heimdall send us to Puente Antiguo."

Heimdall nodded. He activated the Bifrost and deposited Thor and Loki in the desert a little ways from the town. They made their way into town managing to mingle in with the people though many did a double take once they realized they were seeing Thor and Loki got a lot of appreciative looks. Thor led Loki to a building labeled 'Isabel's Diner'

A bell rang as Thor pushed the door open. Inside there were only a few people scattered. An elderly Midgardian woman came up to them and smiled, hugging Thor. "Thor! It is so nice to see you. How have you been?"

Thor smiled at the woman. "I have been well, Isabel. This is my friend Vanya. Jane actually missed Midgardian food so I thought I'd come here and purchase some for her."

Isabel smiled at Loki so she smiled back. "Oh so you finally whisked her away with you? Good. Good. She was very upset when you didn't return. I had half a mind to come up there and whack you with my spoon"

Loki grinned at that. "Oh you should have just called for Heimdall. He would have brought you to Thor. You are welcome to come and wack Thor with your spoon any time."

Isabel laughed at that. "I like this one. Come sit. Look at the menu and order whatever you want on the house. Shall I get you coffee?"

Thor nodded. "Yes please. Warm and with milk for me. That cold one with whipped cream for Vanya."

Isabel nodded and Thor and Loki sat by a window, while she went to fetch their coffee. Thor read the menu and ordered enough food to feed ten people. Loki stared out the window. Isabel came a few minutes later with a tall glass filled with brown liquid and set it in front of Loki.

"There you go dear. One cold coffee." She set a mug in front of Thor and poured a black liquid for him. "And one regular coffee for you. I'll have all the food done in half an hour. You both sit and let me know if you need anything else."

Thor nodded at her and she left to go attend some other people. Loki looked at the drink in front of her with her head tilted. She could see condensation on the glass and cream on top with tiny colorful things that she liked. She saw a long plastic stick with a hole in her glass and wondered what it was for. She looked around and saw a small boy sucking on it across the diner. Loki followed his example and wrapped her lips around the stick sucking. Her eyes widened when sweet liquid flowed in her mouth. Loki looked at her glass in wonder. She really liked this drink. She sucked on the plastic stick again and kept sucking till all the liquid was gone.

Loki looked at her glass sadly when it was empty. She licked some cream from the top and sucked on the plastic again but there was no more liquid in the glass. Loki picked the glass and was about to smash it to show how much she liked the drink and then ask for another when Thor caught her hand.

"No. No. We don't do that on Midgard. Don't smash the glass! You liked it? Let's just ask Isabel for another." Thor explained.

Loki nodded setting the glass back on the table. Isabel who had been looking at them, came up to them. "Please don't smash my crockery. Did you like the coffee dear?"

"This drink.... it's delicious. You have gifted hands. What more do you offer?" Loki asked.

Isabel smiled at her. "Thank you dear. It's just some cold coffee nothing special. We also have a variety of milkshakes, I can bring some for you if you want to try them."

Loki looked like a child in a toy shop. She nodded. "Yes please."

Isabel ruffled her hair affectionately and went to get some more drinks for her. Thor went over to the cash counter and convinced Katy at the counter to let him pay for everything while Isabel was in the kitchen. The woman could use the money and it was not like Thor had any shortage of it. He came back to their table and smiled at Loki, sipping his own coffee.

"I knew you'd like it. Coffee is the greatest drink Midgard has to offer. They drink it in so many different ways. I'll take you to New York sometime and you can try everything." Thor said

Loki who had been licking more cream off her glass looked at him. "What does it taste like warm? Gimme"

Loki took Thor's cup from his hand and sipped his coffee. She srunched her nose. It was bitter. She pushed the cup back towards Thor. "Ew. That's disgusting. How can you drink that?"

Thor shrugged sipping his coffee again. "I like it. It nice and strong. A bit bitter but not overtly so. When I was mortal I actually felt refreshed after drinking it. Jane says it has caffeine which gives energy like sugar does. She said she drinks it often to stay awake for research."

Loki scrunched her nose even more. "I like the cold one more. I can't imagine drinking bitter liquid even to stay awake. Why did you order so much food?"

Thor shrugged again. "I thought we could try some of it too. Maybe get an idea so we can have the cooks make it for Jane whenever she has cravings."

Isabel came and set several milkshakes along with packets of food in a bag in front of Loki who eyed them in wonder. "Here is your food, all packed and ready to go. Enjoy dear. Tell me if you need anything else."

Loki nodded and picked the strawberry milkshake first. A man in one corner changed the channel on the television to a news broadcast.

" _In other news, Maria Stark Foundation is hosting a charity ball for the small restaurants. After the invasion two years ago left behind a lot of damage, the Maria Stark Foundation has been working tirelessly to aid the people of New York. The fundraiser is expected to revive many crowd favorites after a long time. Moving on, in London..."_

The man who had changed the channel scoffed. "Been two years but some people are still struggling eh Isabel? I heard that the bastard who did all this got go home scotch free. Shoulda put him in a hole somewhere and eviscerated him. Saw that shit show in London last week on tv. Why the fuck these bastards pick our planet to fight on? I say we ban all these alien cunts once and for all. Bunch of freaks..."

Loki seemed to just stop as the man continued to grumble about how the 'aliens' should all be kicked off Earth. Thor looked at her worriedly. "Loki? Don't.... don't pay attention to him. Are you done? We can just go back home...."

Loki bit her lip and pushed her glass away. "Yes. I... I'd like that..."

Thor picked up their packets as Isabel came over with an apologetic face. "I'm sorry. Don't pay attention to Alan he's like that. You don't have to leave."

Thor nodded. "It's alright. We need to go back anyways. Jane is waiting for us. Thank you Isabel."

Isabel nodded. "Of course dear. You are welcome anytime."

Thor hugged Isabel and Loki managed a smile though it felt like a grimace to her. They went back to the Bifrost sight. Thor looked at Loki concerned. "Are you sure you are alright?"

Loki nodded composing herself. "Yes. Yes. I'm fine." She looked up at the sky. "Heimdall open the Bifrost."

The Bifrost opened and they were back on Asgard. Loki reverted to his male form. He looked lost in thought the entire way back to the palace. They caught Jane at leaving the room going to look for them. She smiled when she spotted them then looked excited when she saw the bag in Thor's hand.

"Oh! You got me Earth food! I was wondering where you both disappeared off to." Jane said looking from Thor to Loki. She frowned. "Lo? Are you alright? You look worried."

Loki shook his head. "I am fine. You both go ahead and eat. I have some work..."

Loki turned on his heels and left before Thor or Jane could say anything to him. Jane looked at Thor. "What happened? He was fine today morning."

Thor sighed. "We went to Isabel's diner to get you food and there was news about New York and this one man mentioned how people are still struggling after the invasion and how Loki should have been punished more severely and...well..."

Jane frowned. "This just won't do. Put the food on the table. We can eat later. I think I know where Loki went. Come on, it's time to have a conversation long over due."

Jane headed for Frigga's garden. Thor hurried to put all the food on the table and went after her. Sure enough Loki was in their mother's garden by the pool. He was sitting on the stone bench staring into the distance looking distressed. Jane sat down beside him.

"What happened Loki? What happened when you fell into the void?" Jane asked without preamble.

Loki looked like he was going to run away but Thor sat down on his other side and put a hand on his shoulder. "Please Loki. We won't judge. We promise. Please. We can see how much it bothers you. We cannot feel your pain but we can help share some of the burden. Please brother."

Loki looked at his hands, his hair falling over his face hiding it from Thor and Jane. He didn't want them to know about the monster in the void. But he was just so tired. He was tired of being called a freak and evil. Of everyone assuming he would ever hurt innocent people like this. That he was this greedy and selfish. He could not bear it anymore.

"Time has almost no meaning in the void. When I fell, I fell for so long it felt like an eternity. All I could see was darkness and this...emptiness. It was horrible. Then I felt pain. Like someone was tearing my limbs apart. I found myself on a barren rock, floating in space. Every single bone in my body was broken. On the rock lived a creature called the Other. At first I thought maybe I had been rescued. But I was wrong. I was so so wrong.

The Other didn't rescue me. He caught me, like people catch fish and hunt elk. He hunted me for his master. He promised to help heal my wounds only if I did as he bid. I refused. I was no slave and I didn't want to be one. I'd rather die. So the Other just left me there to die.

But you must understand my sedir. It's a part of me. I didn't train to gain it. I was born with it. It has a mind of it's own. The void was empty but still somehow my sedir pieced together enough power to heal me somewhat. It surprised the Other when he came to collect my parts for food. He realized I was different from his other 'hunts' I had potential. So he took me in, sort of. He kept in a kennel and let me eat just enough that my wounds healed.

It was slow. Sometimes the bones set wrong because it took so long to heal them them and I moved. The Other would break them again and then the whole process began again. I think I spent months in the kennels. I don't know really because I had no way of measuring time.

Once I was capable of walking the Other took me to his master. The master was kind to me at least at first. He wanted to know who I was, where I came from and what the people I belonged to were like. I lied. I didn't trust him so I lied about everything. But the master was no fool. He knew I was lying. He ordered the Other to break into my mind and read my memories. I resisted.

The void weakened me but my mind was my mind. It was where my power was the strongest. I resisted the Other and was banished to the kennels again. This time they did not feed me, hoping to weaken my barriers enough to get past them. I knew I was trapped so I....I tried to kill myself. After all if I was dead they wouldn't gain anything. I tried several times but I was caught each time and then I was punished for it.

Then one day the Other came to me overjoyed as much a being like him is capable of joy. He said his master had gotten his hands on a prized possession. He was gleeful because he was certain he would be able to break past my shields with it. The object was the scepter.

You must understand the scepter is so much more than a weapon. It is an infinity stones like the Aether. Ancient and powerful and terrible. I tried to resist. I swear I did...but I couldn't. I just couldn't...." Loki sobbed.

Thor and Jane hugged him tightly tears flowing from their eyes as well. Loki took in a wobbly breath. "I don't even remember the invasion that well. I was trapped in my own body making choices I didn't want, doing things I hated. I only remember struggling to control things, trying so hard to make sure I **lost** and everyone just believed I would do something like this. Was I really so horrible?! So terrible that no one thought something was amiss?! No one felt something was not right with the picture?! No one?!!"

Loki's voice sounded angry but he was crying. Thor felt guilt twist in his stomach. He was just a terrible failure wasn't he? He had failed Loki so completely that his brother thought no one supported him. It was a miracle Loki even let Thor near him.

Jane hugged Loki letting him bury his face in her neck and let his emotions out. She felt her heart break for Loki. He had endured so much. Jane didn't know how he was still functional. She would have lost her mind. Over Loki's shoulder she saw guilt clear on Thor's face. It did not take a genius to figure out that Thor blamed himself for the horrible fate Loki had suffered. She needed to speak to them both. Loki had calmed somewhat but Jane still felt a slight tremor in his body. His hands were shaking.

She gently nudged Loki which prompted him to scoot away from her wiping his eyes hurriedly. "Sorry. I'm sorry..."

Jane shook her head catching his hands in hers. "No Loki. Don't be sorry. You needed to let it all out. Don't ever apologize for your emotions. I cannot begin to understand how you survived the void and I wish I could change all of it but I can't. But you must know I believe you. I believe everything you say and that New York was not your fault. It was that horrible monster not you."

"Yes Loki. Those actions were not yours even if your hands were the one doing them. You are as much a victim of the attack as the people of New York. I....I am sorry. I should have....I should have done more. I should have fought for you. I should have stood by you. I should never have let Odin imprison you. I hope....I hope you can forgive me.." Thor said.

Loki turned to look at him. "There's nothing to forgive. Odin would never have listened to you. He hates me Thor. I think he regrets ever saving me. When I was brought before him he called me Laufeyson. I knew then that there was no place in his heart for me. He told me my birthright was to die. He told me if it wasn't for mother he would have executed me."

Anger sparked in Thor's eyes. Myriil had said the same but it was different hearing it from Loki's mouth. Hearing the pain in his voice when he spoke about Odin. Thor hugged Loki, stroking his hair. "I'm sorry Loki. Not just for New York or for Odin but for everything before that. For pushing you aside, for letting people influence me so much that your words were lost in the crowd. You were right you know I would have been a terrible King. I was not ready and you were the only one who had the courage to acknowledge it. I just wish I had listened...you have and will always be my equal. That you were led to believe otherwise is my fault. I should have known better..."

Loki hugged Thor back. He couldn't believe his ears. All his life all he wanted was for a place beside Thor. Everyone always looked down on him. He could bear it as long as Thor didn't do the same but then in the months leading up to his coronation that wasn't, Thor looked down on Loki too and he couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear Thor pushing him aside like that. What followed was Loki could now admit a horrible plan that became worse as things progressed. But to hear Thor admit it was not all Loki's fault was the affirmation Loki had needed.

He hugged Thor tightly. "We were both wrong. I don't hate you. I never did. I do not wish to see you die. I would not be able to bear it. That was anger and frustration and pain. Odin is not my father but you and mother are my family. You are the family I choose."

Jane wrapped her arms around Loki's waist and laid her head on his back. Loki closed his eyes and let himself be wrapped in the arms of these two impossible people who had wormed their way into his heart. The sun shone brightly in the sky and Loki felt like it was a new beginning. He was not going to waste it. Never again.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

After spending nearly the entire afternoon by the pond wrapped up in each other's arms, Jane, Thor and Loki eventually made their way back to Thor's room. Jane almost wished they'd just combine their room with Loki's. They spent most of their time with each other anyways. It seemed wrong to have Loki all the way on the other side of the palace. The food had gone cold so Thor sent it with the servants to the kitchen to the cooks to analyze and hopefully be able to recreate for Jane.

Jane was sad about that but she didn't mind much. Loki was silent and looked like he needed sleep but Jane could see his eyes looked lighter like a burden had fallen off his shoulders so didn't press him too much to speak. Thor and Loki needed to go over the treaty but they didn't seem in the mood for it so instead Jane told them all the crazy stories from her childhood. They didn't seem much to her but she could see Thor and Loki absorb every word with rapt attention so she enjoyed the retelling.

Soon it was time for dinner and then their appointment with Fandral. Loki suggested that maybe they should just eat at the bar with Thor's friends. The idea felt good to Jane and Thor agreed to it as well. Loki went to his room to change and Jane and Thor decided to have a bath together to save time. Jane sighed happily as Thor rubbed the shampoo in her scalp.

"Thank you." Thor said softly.

Jane looked at him over her shoulder. "For what?"

Thor rinsed her hair with water. "For accepting Loki the way he is. No one has ever done that in the past. It means a lot to me."

Jane turned fully so she was sitting in Thor's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. "You don't have to thank me. Loki is my friend. Can I ask you something?"

Thor nodded. "Anything."

"Who is it? The person you said you loved but they didn't love you back. Who is it?" Jane asked. She was pretty sure she knew who it was but she wanted to hear it from Thor.

Thor stiffened under Jane's gaze. He couldn't seem to breathe right. Jane stroked his cheek and touched her forehead to his. Thor took a shaky breath. "It's Loki isn't it?" Jane asked quietly.

Thor was trembling. Jane could feel it. "I...I love you...." He managed to choke out.

"I know. But you love Loki too." Jane stated it like it was a fact not a question. Thor closed his eyes in defeat. Tears leaked out the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to see the disgust on Jane's face. He couldn't.

But Jane gently kissed his tears away. She leaned her head on Thor's shoulder. He hesitantly brought his arms around her, unsure what was happening. He waited for the explosion. For the outburst of anger but it never came, instead Jane spoke softly in his ear.

"When we were in Alfheim and Aldon propositioned Loki....all I could think was how Loki belonged to us. I was so jealous. He feels.....he feels like a part of us. Like you, me and him we were always meant to be. It feels incomplete without him. I don't know.... it's all so new to me.....but I think....I think I'm falling for Loki too. I want to wake up beside him everyday but I want you to be there too. I want....I want you both and I just....I see the way you look at Loki. You look at me the same way you know. And that's when I realized you're in love with him. But it doesn't make me jealous or angry and I wonder if something's wrong with me..." Jane trailed off.

Thor couldn't believe his ears. Never in his wildest dreams had Thor ever expected Jane to say what she was saying now. He looked at her searching for something anything to tell him that this was a cruel joke. But all he saw was brutal honesty.

"You....you don't think I'm disgusting for wanting my own brother? You're not... you're not angry?" Thor couldn't help asking.

Jane shook her head. "No. I don't think you're disgusting." She bit her lip. "I mean....I don't think I understand how I feel about it yet but I'm not disgusted and I don't think I'll be disgusted. Eir was talking about how the Jotun often have multiple lovers and I can't get the idea out of my head. I feel like....like maybe that could work for us but I just...... I don't know..."

Thor looked at Jane amazed. "You would be willing to do that with me? You would consider an open relationship?"

Jane looked at Thor seriously. "Yes. I...Yes.... it's more that I would listen if you.....if it was on the table. I'm saying I will at the very least listen if you ever....not just with Loki but with anyone.....but of course it doesn't matter does it? I don't think Loki feels that way about either of us."

Thor looked at Jane feeling as slow as Loki often complained he was. "I... you're saying if Loki was willing you want us to try being a triad like the Jotun?"

Jane shrugged. "If everyone was in agreement then....then yeah that's accurate."

Thor blinked at Jane for a long moment. He seemed to be at a loss for words. Jane looked at him nervously. "Do you....do you think I'm being a....woman of questionable character by proposing something like this?"

Thor was quick to react to that. "No. Never. Never Jane. The offer you make me applies to you as well. I will listen too without judgement. I would never think less of you for sharing your wants. Never."

"Thank you that means a lot. You saying that." Jane admitted.

Thor kissed her. "Thank **you**. I....I don't know when my love for Loki changed but I never thought it would be acceptable. I always feared that if anyone found out they would shun me. When I found Loki is not my brother by blood a part of me was relieved because it meant I could love him right? To me it felt like an explanation of why I had fallen for him. It took me some time to realize that it hardly mattered. But I love you Jane. My love for Loki does not dim my love for you."

"I know. And.... whatever I feel for Loki doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you too." Jane confessed.

Thor kissed Jane again tangling his tongue with her. Jane kissed him back moaning when he massaged her breasts. Thor kissed her languidly, letting his hands roam over body. Jane panted. She bit at Thor's ear and wrapped one hand around his cock stroking it. They had been in the bath too long, they needed to hurry so Thor did not waste any time. He brushed one finger over Jane's cunt then slowly pushed it inside.

He pumped his finger in and out of her a few times before adding another aiming for the spot inside her. Jane stroked his cock faster letting her nail catch in his foreskin. Thor swore and held her closer pressing his fingers deeper inside her. He could feel his orgasm build up and leaned down taking one of Jane's nipples in his mouth, stroking the spot inside her at the same time.

Jane saw stars as she came. She stroked Thor's cock faster adding a twist on the upwards motion. She squeezed the head and thumbed his slit and Thor was cuming. Jane sucked his cum off her fingers and a broken moan left Thor, his cock gave a valiant twich. Thor and Jane kissed for a long moment, coming down from their high. Then they washed up and got out of the tub and dressed.

Jane sighed, fingering the necklace Loki had given her. She wore it almost all the time now. Thor wrapped his arms around her from behind. Jane closed her eyes. "I thought I was over this phase of longing after the man I loved. I feel I'm doing it all over again. Has Loki ever been in a relationship?"

"I actually don't know. Loki plays his cards close to his chest. He has ways and ways of hiding. I have never seen him in a relationship officially but it's Loki so that doesn't mean anything. I tried asking but I can't out talk him." Thor admitted. "I like this dress."

Jane grinned, batting Thor's hands away when he tried to unbutton the clasps on her dress. "Oh stop it. You literally just came. And we are late!"

"God of Fertility, love. Trust me I am nowhere near done." Thor growled.

"That was horrible. Is this how you woo Jane oaf? I feel sorry for her." Loki's voice said from behind making both Thor and Jane jump in surprise.

They turned to see him leaning against the door. For a change Loki was wearing a blue tunic in the exact same shade as Jane's dress. Thor was wearing his usual armor so they all matched. Jane put a hand over heart. "Damn Lo. How long have you been standing there?" She asked worried Loki had overhead something.

Loki shrugged. "Enough to know the oaf is also a pig and that we are all now extremely late. Sif is going to blame me."

Jane frowned, ignoring Thor mumbling about how he knew how to woo Jane. "What do you mean Sif will blame you? We're all going together and we're all late."

Loki shrugged. "It's nothing. Are you ready? I'm hungry."

Jane looked at him, wanting to pursue it but then let it go. "Sure let's go."

Thor offered his arm to Jane and Loki jokingly did the same but Jane grinned and took it so she was in between them both. Loki looked surprised by that but then he was smiling. They all walked arm in arm to the stables where Jane and Thor took one horse and Loki took another. They made their way to the inn Thor usually went to and then went inside.

Thor spotted his friends in one corner and weaved his way through the crowd to them. He was no longer just a prince but a king so the people bowed to him and surprisingly also to Jane and Loki. Thor grinned at his friends.

"Hogun. Volstagg. It's good to see you. Fandral where's Sif?" Thor asked.

Fandral nodded at the bar. "Over there ordering drinks and food. Lady Jane, Loki I'm glad you came. Come sit."

Fandral wisely vacated his chair so Thor, Jane and Loki could sit together. Loki tried to sit somewhere else but Jane pushed him in the chair between her and Thor looking at him sternly. Loki might have argued but Thor put a hand on his knee under the table silently urging him to stay. Fandral didn't look too pertubed by that but Volstagg and Hogun frowned almost in sync.

Sif returned to the table at that moment though a server with her. The server placed all their drinks and realized she was short by one because Sif had not known Loki would show up. The server was a young girl that looked like she was barely out of her teens. She looked mortified.

"I'm sorry Your Grace. I....I seem to have miscalculated. I s-shall get your drink immediately." The server went to rush but Jane put a hand on her arm.

"Wait! It's fine. This is mead right?" The server nodded looking at Jane with round eyes. Jane smiled at her. "Well then I can't really drink it unless it's watered down. Loki can have my drink and you can get me a new one that's been watered down properly yes?"

The server nodded looking somewhat relieved that she had not messed things up. Loki smiled at her. "Yes Mara. It's alright. Make sure Jane's drink is one part mead and three parts water and do not bring more than three for her. It can become too much. Of you go now and smile a little more dear."

Loki snapped his fingers and for a moment there was a green butterfly on Mara's nose. It made her giggle and she seemed to relax after that smiling and happily going to get the food for them. Jane pushed her drink towards Loki asking about the butterfly illusion. Loki launched into an explanation. Thor watched them both fondly adding his own input here and there. They were lost in their little bubble and forgot about the remaining people at the table until Sif slammed an empty mug on the table. 

Jane blinked remembering there were other people on the table. Sif was glaring at Loki which Jane was going to comment on but Fandral spoke up. "So Jane how are you liking Asgard so far? This one's not giving you too much trouble is he?" Fandral said pointing at Thor.

Jane smiled. "Nothing I can't handle. I love it here. There's so much to learn. I have been reading up on the history and Loki was teaching me some of the science or as you people call it sedir. He's really good at that."

"He's been corrupting you already? Perhaps you should come to the training ring sometime and we can teach you some actually useful things." Volstagg commented.

Thor frowned at his friend and Loki clenched his fist. Jane seemed surprised by Volstagg's statement. She didn't want to argue with Thor's friends so she smiled. "Sorry. Thor's already offered to do that and I'm pretty sure Loki is perfectly capable of teaching me how to fight as well. Maybe some other time. Hogun you live in Vanaheim right? What is it like? I heard there were some attacks there recently. Are things alright now?"

Hogun took a sip of his mead. "We were having some trouble with maurders during the convergence but things have settled now. You should visit Vanaheim sometime. You will like it."

Jane smiled. "I'd love to. We went to Alfheim and it was beautiful. I have never seen architecture like that. I love exploring. We can visit Vanaheim together sometime and you can show me around."

"Oh you went to Alfheim did you? Meet your admirer Aldon there Loki?" Fandral teased.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. The guy had the audacity to proposition Loki right there on the high table. Rude." Jane exclaimed.

"Oh no. Did he get punched by Thor or stabbed by Loki? Now I wish I'd been there too." Fandral said sadly.

"Neither. I told him to fuck off" Jane replied

Fandral laughed. "Oh that's even better. Now I really wish I'd been there."

Mara came back then with their food and Jane's watered down mead. They ate and talked. The others warming up as Thor also joined the conversation. Loki remained mostly quiet and Sif seemed intent to drink all the mead. Jane thought it best to leave her be as long as she did not make any scathing comments Jane could care less.

In the palace, Heimdall sighed frustrated as the council once again argued pointlessly.

"Have you heard the rumors making rounds Heimdall?"

"They're saying King Thor is...is sleeping with both Lady Jane and Prince Loki!"

"This is terrible. We cannot have a scandal like this! We must quell the rumors."

"This is why it was not a good idea to allow the...human and Loki to roam like this."

Heimdall frowned at that. "You speak of Lady Jane and Prince Loki as if they are not people but objects. I would not suggest keeping this attitude. I suggest you keep an open mind and consider the possibility that soon we might have two Kings and a Queen." There were cries of outrage at that.

"How can you even suggest such a thing Heimdall?"

"Are you implying there is truth to the rumors we have been hearing?"

"Surely you cannot be serious Heimdall. The people would never accept such a union. This is presposterous."

Heimdall scoffed. "Presposterous? You know what is presposterous? What's preposterous is that King Odin stole Laufey's child and raised him among us in secret. What's presposterous is that when Loki ascended the throne rightfully by all our laws he was shunned. What's presposterous is that this council allowed for him to be imprisoned without even a trial. What's presposterous is that King Odin abandoned the realms in the hour of need and this council did not protest once. And don't you dare bring the people into this. All the people want is peace. If a union between Thor, Jane and Loki can achieve that they would not give one fuck whether it is moral or not. This is hardly the first time something like this will occur. Or have you forgotten who sits on the throne of Vanaheim? The winds are changing my Lords and I suggest you change with it. I hope you know what happens to those who cannot change. Now if this pointless discussion is over I would very much like to go back to my duty. Or do you have any more idiotic suggestions?"

The councilmen looked cowed hearing Heimdall's rant. He knew they were just being snobbish. None of them had the courage to say anything to Thor's face, not when he had made it clear that Jane and Loki were non-negotiable. They knew Odin's days as King were over one way or another. Thor was the future and if they wanted to keep their seats and their lavish lifestyles they had to compromise on some things. There was no other way. When none of them said anything for a few minutes, Heimdall nodded.

"I thought as much. Have a good night my Lords." Heimdall stood up and left. He sighed . Now if only Thor, Jane and Loki figured out that they loved each other, it would make Heimdall's life easier. He groaned knowing Loki's penchance for drama and Thor's latent insecurities Heimdall was probably going to be chasing down idiots across the Nine Realms soon. Why was he the only one who did anything productive in Asgard?

Heimdall waited for a revelation from the Norns but none came so he decided to go to the bar for a change and try to drink these thoughts away. It was only when he was already seated and had a mug of mead in his hands that he realized Thor, Jane and Loki were in the bar too. Heimdall let his face meet the table and groaned. The server Mara looked horribly confused and sort of worried. "Just keep pouring the mead." He said without looking up.

Jane frowned as Sif drank more and more as the night progressed. The others drank too though she noted both Thor and Loki chose to limit themselves more than they usually did. Jane still had her one mug from the start of the night. She didn't feel like getting drunk in a bar full of people. Sif was clearly drunk though. She smiled more and more at Thor and glared more and more at Loki as the mead went to her head.

Sif leaned over the table, Fandral having to move the empty plates hurriedly so Sif didn't crush them under her arms. "Thoooor! It's so nice to see you! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in soooooo long!"

Thor looked at Sif concerned. "Uh...I was in the palace the whole time. King now remember? I was just busy. I'm sorry if you feel I have been aloof. You are welcome to visit the palace whenever you want."

Sif pouted at him. "No. It's not the same. This is nice. You and me and all of us together here just like old times. Drinking mead and eating and laughing. Now you spend all your time with the freak and that woman. I miss you."

Thor blinked. "That woman? Are you talking about Jane? Jane is not 'that woman', she has a name. And don't call Loki a freak. We've had this conversation before. I do not like you calling him names. You're drunk Sif, perhaps it's best if we go back home now."

It was then that Sif seem to realize Jane and Loki were with Thor as well. She glared at them. "Oh you brought them with you. Why Thor? What's so special about them? What could you possibly see in this...this mortal?"

Everyone at the table looked uncomfortable now. Thor was struggling to control his temper Jane could see it. She stood up, taking Loki's hand. "Yeah. Thanks for the dinner. We'll see you...later."

Jane tried to leave with Loki but Sif was faster and was around the table holding her other wrist. The grip was so tight, Jane felt her bones grind. She bit her lip to keep from wincing in pain. Thor and Loki were quick to react. Loki pulled Jane with enough force that Sif's grip broke and Thor was beside Sif shoving her away from Jane.

"Enough Sif. You are drunk and you don't know what you're doing. Fandral take her back home." Thor ordered.

Fandral nodded hurrying to Sif's side trying to pull her away. But Sif leaned in Jane's face. "I see you, you whore. I heard the rumors. I know you're cheating with this freak of all people. Soon the they will all see your true colors. I'll make sure of it!"

Jane glared at Sif. "You don't see anything. You should clean up your act before it's too late. Otherwise I promise you, you'll regret it."

Fandral managed to pull Sif away then and led her away though she glared at Jane the whole time. Jane pulled out of Loki's hold and stomped out of the bar. She sighed when she was outside looking at the sky, rubbing her injured wrist. Thor and Loki came to stand beside her.

"I'm sorry. I know Sif's feelings for me are more than friendly but I never thought she'd do something like this. I'm sorry Jane." Thor apologized.

Jane shook her head. "It wasn't your fault." She turned to Loki. "What rumors was she taking about?"

Loki tried to act natural. "Uh...I don't know...?"

Jane shook her head again. "Try again Loki. You were standing right beside me. I felt you go rigid. You do that only when you know something."

Loki looked at his feet. "Not here. Can we please go back to the palace? We need to check your wrist."

Jane nodded. They all went back to the palace to Loki's room and sat by the fireplace. Loki brought his medicine box and Thor gently examined Jane's wrist. It was a sprain. Loki handed Thor a bandage and he quietly wrapped it around Jane's wrist.

Loki sighed. "Today morning, Fandral told me some of the servants spread a rumor that we...I mean you me and Thor are.... involved. I went to the city before our dinner and the rumor had spread to the city as well. To be honest I'm surprised there has been no rioting and that the council is being so quiet."

Thor blinked at Loki. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have quelled them."

Loki shook his head. "If you tried to suppress the rumors it would only give people the affirmation that there is something in the first place. The best action is to take no action. They'll die down eventually."

Jane giggled suddenly. Thor and Loki looked at her. "Sorry...I just realized everything in Loki's room is covered up except the huge bed and he spends all his time in our room and we only come here at night...you know like we're here to..."

Thor and Loki looked horrified at the implication. Jane shook her head putting a hand on Loki's knee. "Don't worry about it Lo. We'll be more careful and the rumors will go away in a while"

Loki nodded mutely. Thor poured some sweet wine then grimaced. "Do you have something stronger? I don't want retire just yet."

"Yeah tonight was a total bust. I didn't the like the bar, it was too crowded and I didn't feel free enough to drink. I want to just....relax." Jane explained.

Loki conjured a hookah from somewhere and lit it. He waved a hand and they were all seated on cushions on the floor and the fireplace was also lit. Loki was between Thor and Jane again. He offered Jane the pipe first. Jane wrapped her lips around it and inhaled the smoke, keeping it for a few seconds before letting it out. She immediately felt more relaxed and leaned against the cushions. 

Loki offered the pipe to Thor and inhaled some himself. After a few rounds they were all floating. Jane leaned her head on Loki's shoulder. She tried to unbutton the top button of Loki's tunic. "Why are your collars so high? I feel like you're choking all the time. I feel warm. Are you warm?"

Loki shook his head. "I'm always cold. Thor is the one who's always warm." Loki frowned. "I don't know why the collar is so high. I hate it."

With a thought, Loki banished his tunic so he was bare chested now. Thor and Jane automatically drew closer to him. Thor ran a big hand over his chest. Loki sighed happily. Thor was warm. He picked at Thor's armor. "Off." Loki insisted 

Thor took another hit and then pulled his armor off. He leaned his head on Loki's other shoulder and ran a hand over his chest again. In the haze, Jane thought it was insanely hot. She leaned over and captured Thor's mouth in an uncoordinated kiss. Loki ran a hand appreciatively over Thor's back, feeling his muscles. In the back of his mind he knew he was not supposed to be doing this but the thought kept slipping out of his mind.

Jane felt her dress was too restricting. She broke her kiss with Thor to look at Loki. "Lo want a different dress. Too warm." She complained. Thor was now kissing down Loki's neck. Loki moaned and tilted his head giving Thor better access. He looked at Jane through hooded eyes. In a blink Jane was wearing a thin green dress that was almost see through and had a thigh high slit on one side.

She sighed in relief and kissed Loki's cheek, pressing closer to him, wrapping one leg around his. Thor ran a hand over her body, feeling himself harden. Loki was looking at Jane too. He could feel Thor against his thigh and he felt arousal curl in his stomach when Jane and Thor kissed over him again. They were now fully laying down on the cushions, the hookah forgotten as the haze of lust and the high mixed together. 

Loki realized no one had kissed him on the lips yet. He pouted. "Kiss me. Kiss me." Jane and Thor tried to kiss him at the same time and ended up banging their foreheads. Loki giggled. It turned into a moan when Thor's mouth was over his suddenly, capturing his lips. Loki felt warm all over. He had dreamed of this for so long. Thor stroked Loki's tongue and Loki moaned.

Then someone was pulling his hair and turning his face. Jane was kissing him then and it was slow and languid where Thor had been hot and intense. Loki liked this too. He took control of their kiss, tangling his tongue with Jane's. She tasted sweet and smelled like roses. Loki found it incredibly arousing.

"Bed...bed...." Thor moaned taking one Loki's nipples in his mouth, massaging Jane's breast through her dress. They both moaned. With a thought they were on Loki's bed. Jane in between Loki and Thor. Loki's gaze fell on the necklace she was wearing. The necklace he had given and he felt a rush of possessiveness. Jane was theirs. His and Thor's. They were both his. Thor and Jane belonged to Loki no one else

Loki growled kissing down Jane's neck, biting her pulse point till there was a red mark on her neck. Then he was kissing Thor again. Loki rocked his hips against Jane's ass. He was hard and leaking and he wanted release. Jane moaned as Thor rocked into her as well. She stroked them both through their trousers. Loki pressed a knee between Jane's thighs, he kissed down her shoulder, pushing her hair aside. Thor caught on and turned Jane towards him, slipping the straps of her dress down.

Jane felt overwhelmed as Thor kissed down her breasts and Loki kissed down her back. They both rocked into her and she rode their thighs chasing her own release. They were all too uncoordinated to realize they could take their clothes off. Loki looked at Thor over Jane's shoulder. He let his hands wander over Thor's body, and lower stroking his cock. Thor moaned pressing closer, kissing Jane and letting his hands wander over to Loki.

Jane reached one hand behind and squeezed Loki's ass pressing back into him. They all rocked into each other their breaths speeding up as they felt their release building up. Loki grabbed Jane's breasts and tweaked her nipples through her dress and Thor ground his knee against her cunt at the same time. Jane came with a moan that was swallowed as Loki kissed her fervently. 

He stroked Thor's cock and Jane stroked his. Thor came first and Loki soon followed after, cumming in his trousers. They all panted as they came down from their high. Jane kissed Thor and then Loki and snuggled between them. Thor captured Loki's lips and they kissed for a long moment before wrapping their arms around Jane. Loki grimaced as he felt the mess in his pants when he moved. With a wave of his hand they were all clean. Thor chuckled and pulled the sheets over them. The last thought Loki had before sleep over took him was that he could get used to this.

Morning found Loki sighing as he pressed closer to Jane. He had a slight headache from yesterday but it was bearable. He really should stop drinking around Jane and Thor. Jane ran a hand down his arm and Loki frowned. The touch was over bare skin, he felt it. Then all the memories came back, Loki smoking and feeling like he was floating and Thor....Thor kissed him right there in front of Jane and then....

Loki sat up, jostling Jane and Thor and waking them. He looked at them. Thor was only in his trousers and Jane was wearing a dress so thin she might as well have been naked. Loki vaguely recalled her complaining about being too warm and him conjuring the dress for her. Loki turned away from them. Fuck. Fuck what had he done? What the fuck had he done?!!!

Jane and Thor blinked and slowly realized the state they were in and remembered what they had done last night. Thor felt his heart stop. Loki wouldn't look at them and he was trembling. 

"Loki.....I...." Thor didn't know what to say. Loki hunched and folded in on himself when he heard Thor's voice. 

Jane sat up and hesitantly put a hand on Loki's back. Loki wrapped his arms around himself and felt tears form in his eyes. "S-sorry. I'm sorry.... I'm sorry...."

Jane and Thor looked at each other. Jane scooted closer to Loki and tried to catch his eye. "Loki what are you sorry for?"

Thor shifted so he was sitting on Loki's other side. He hesitated but then put a hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki still wouldn't look at them. "I-I must have lost control of my sedir.....I remember....I conjured the dress and I..."

Jane shook her head. "Loki you didn't force us into anything if that's what you are implying. We....we kissed you because we wanted....we touched you because we like you. We were high not under a spell."

Loki looked up at that, looking at Jane and then Thor with wide eyes. "You.....you desire me like that....? You...I.....I don't understand....."

Thor swallowed. "I...before I met Jane....I was.....I was in love with you. That's why I resisted all attempts Odin made to marry me off. Because I...I wanted you....I still want you. I love you Loki. I'm in love with you."

Loki looked at Thor shocked. He whirled to look at Jane wanting to see her reaction. But she only looked back. Wasn't she angry? Thor just confessed to being in love with Loki. Did that not anger her?

"If you're waiting for some outburst of anger, it's not going to happen. I already had this conversation with Thor. I know." Jane admitted.

Loki looked between Thor and Jane. He felt horribly slow as he tried to understand what was happening. "You are in love with me...?" Loki asked pointing a finger at Thor. He turned to Jane. "And you knew about this but you're alright with this...?" Loki asked confused.

Jane brushed Loki's hair from his face. "Well I think I'm in love with you too. But yes that's an accurate description of things."

Loki blinked feeling shocked again. He shook his head. "No...I can't...I can't do this. I can't do this. I clearly did something wrong last night. Maybe it was the hookah or my sedir. I'll figure it out. I'll fix this."

Jane and Thor frowned at him. "There is nothing to fix Loki. It's not your sedir or whatever fumes we inhaled last night." Thor insisted.

"Well then you've both gone mad!! You can't love me!!! You're in a relationship or did you both forget about it?!!" Loki yelled suddenly.

He wrapped his arms around himself again. "You can't....you can't love me..." He said more quietly.

"And why not?" Jane asked. 

Loki let his Jotun form take over, his skin turning blue and his eyes going red. "Monster.." he whispered. "You can't love a monster like me..."

Thor put a hand under Loki's chin turning his face up. Loki was blue but he was still Loki and Thor found the color of his skin was just a sidenote nothing more. Loki had his eyes shut tightly. "Loki please look at us. It doesn't matter if you are blue or red or pink or if you have ten horns or are fucking tree. We'd still love you because you'd still be you."

Jane traced the marks on Loki's back, making him shiver. "Yes. Thor is right. We don't love you just for your looks Loki. That wouldn't be love anyways. It doesn't matter how you look. It would not change a thing. You did not force us or trap us. We didn't come to this decision overnight. We're still not sure where this is going. We only know that we want you in every way possible. But if that's not how you feel then that's a different thing. We can just forget last night and move on if that's what you want...."

Loki opened his eyes and looked at Thor and Jane. He searched for duplicity but found only honesty. They were speaking the truth. They really didn't care. Loki didn't know what to say. He could only stare at them. Then he blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"But you're in a relationship!" Loki's mind seemed stuck on that. Thor and Jane couldn't possibly be suggesting what he thought they were suggesting.

Thor nodded. "Yes that is true.....but we were...we wanted to pursue a relationship together. I mean...with all three of us together....like...well like the Jotun I suppose."

Loki glared at Thor not finding his attempt at humor funny at all, then realized his eyes were red and therefore extremely intimidating. Thor only shrugged and then his attention seemed diverted by Loki's horns which he had forgotten had grown during his time in the void. Loki reverted back to his Aesir form when Thor reached one hand to touch Loki's horns. He was not ready for that. He could hardly bear the monster form for long. 

Thor looked at Loki blushing. "Sorry...."

Loki tilted his head, still finding it hard to believe he was sitting here practically naked between Thor and Jane and they were confessing their feelings for him. This was some strange dream and probably something borne from Loki's sedir no matter what Thor and Jane thought. Loki pinched himself then waited for the dream to break and frowned when it didn't.

Jane sighed. "Alright. How about this let's do this the human way. Let's date and let things fall into place on their own."

"Date? What do you mean date?" Loki asked. 

"You know...go out together. Maybe for dinner or movies or whatever Asgard has to offer as entertainment and see how things go...? Um...on Earth two people who want to be romantically involved date to get to know each other better." Jane explained.

Loki bit his lip. "And what about if it does not work out? What if I don't feel that way about you or if we cannot make a relationship between all three of us work?"

Thor swallowed. "Well then that's that. We go back to being the way we were. If it does not work out, it doesn't work out. We won't blame you for it."

Loki looked between Jane and Thor. He should say no. He should say no, hand over his journal on soul bonds, leave Asgard and never look back again. This could not possibly lead anywhere good. But as Loki had found in the past days, he did not want to say no. He wanted Thor and Jane, he wanted to wake up next to them and last night....he wanted more of last night. Loki found himself nodding before he could change his mind.

Thor and Jane brightened, smiling at him and then he was being hugged by them both. With the state of undress they were in, it made Loki shiver. Jane seemed to realize what she was wearing and blushed.

"Uh....can I have my old dress back?" She asked Loki.

He nodded and with a wave of his hand, Jane was back in the dress from last night. Loki frowned at her though. "Did I drain sedir from your body yesterday?"

Jane thought about it. "No....but I don't feel sick. I actually feel great and I'm super hungry." Jane looked at her sprained wrist. "This doesn't hurt anymore either."

Loki undid the bandage from Jane's wrist and examined her. "It's healed. The injury has healed completely." He said amazed.

Thor shuffled closer to them. "Is Jane's sedir acting subconsciously again? Maybe we should visit Lady Eir for another examination."

Loki nodded. Jane looked at her own wrist in wonder. "This is amazing and....kinda scary. I'm going to be fine right?"

Loki hugged her sideways. "Yes of course. This is good Jane. Your sedir is responding to subconscious desires which means it is assimilating to you well. We're on the right path. Don't worry."

Thor nodded, kissing Jane's temple. "Yes. We won't let anything happen to you. Trust us."

"I do." Jane admitted. "I do trust you. Both of you. Let's go see Eir after breakfast and sort this out."

Loki and Thor both nodded. Jane smiled at them, then turned her head placing a chaste kiss on Loki's lips, making him gasp in surprise. Jane stroked his cheek fondly. "We'll wait for you at breakfast." She said moving to get off the bed. 

Loki touched his lips with his fingers nodding in a daze. Thor fidgeted for a few seconds before he too placed a soft kiss on the corner of Loki's mouth, and then hurried to follow Jane. Loki sat there frozen for few minutes before blinking. Breakfast. He was supposed to get ready for breakfast. Loki got out of bed and looked around for his tunic and then he started laughing. In the corner were Thor's armor and tunic. He'd been so nervous he forgot to put it back on. Loki wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes. He grinned. Well maybe this was not so bad after all

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Very Happy New Year to you all!! Hope this year is full of joy and happiness for everyone 😊

Once in their room Thor realized he had forgotten his armor and half of his clothes in Loki's room. Jane found it extremely funny and Thor couldn't stop blushing. They both refreshed themselves and changed, then went to their dining room for breakfast. Loki showed up a few minutes later all smiles, though he did look slightly nervous. He dumped Thor's armor and clothes in his lap just as Thor was about to take a bite out of his porridge making porridge fly everywhere.

It was so like Loki, it put them all at ease. They had breakfast chatting as always even if now and then Thor would rub Loki's knee under the table and Jane had her feet tangled with his. After they were done they went to Eir who examined Jane under the soul forge again.

"Hmmm. I do see your sedir is more developed. The channels are strong and it is responding well. I suggest you start training to avoid any accidents. Have you considered my suggestion of soul bonds?" Eir asked, letting Jane sit up.

Thor tapped his chin in thought. "We do not have enough information on them. I don't want to take the risk of going on half information."

Loki shuffled on his feet and pulled his journal from his pocket dimension. "Uh...I meant to give this to you yesterday but then other things came up and it slipped my mind. It has all the information on soul bonds."

Thor took the journal from Loki's hand and Jane peered at it as well. "Where'd you get this from Lo?" Jane asked.

Loki bit his lip. He had planned on saying he got it from a source but he found he didn't want to lie to Thor or Jane. "It's.... it's mine. I wrote it. I...uh....I found an old Jotun in the outskirts of Vanaheim... he was chatty when he was drunk.....that's how I knew they were desperate for the Casket...."

Thor looked at Loki. He flipped through the journal. This was very valuable information. One that could be misused horribly in the wrong hands. Loki looked nervous like he was waiting for Thor to yell at him.

Thor sighed. "You could have gotten hurt trying to get this information Loki. Where is this Jotun now? Does he still live?"

Loki bit his lip. "No....he drank himself to death a while back....this was around your coronation...."

Thor knew Loki would have had a hand in that. To cover his tracks. But Thor had long forgiven everything that had happened during his coronation. It was no use to keep digging old demons. "Alright. Then you know how to form soul bonds. What do you think we should do?"

Loki looked between Thor and Jane. "I cannot make your decision for you. The soul bond is permanent. Once formed it cannot be broken. Your life forces would be tied so if one of you was to die....the other would die too. It's also....very intimate. The old Jotun said that in a strong soul bond the people involved are able to feel each other's emotions and exchange memories. You...Jane might also inherit a part of your powers. It must be a decision you both agree with otherwise the soul bond will not form and hurt you instead."

Jane looked at her hands. "That sounds like a lot....what about biologically. I mean would I still be human?"

Loki shook his head. "I.....I don't know. If you do gain a part of Thor's power then it would mean your body has to be able to handle it. I suppose that would mean some biological change but to what extent I can't tell."

Thor sighed. "Let's give it time. We'll think about it. We have time right?"

Jane nodded. "Yeah. Let's give it time. I can learn to control my sedir first and we can revisit this idea later down the line. No rush. Thank you Eir."

Eir smiled at Jane. "You're quite welcome my dear. I must say it is good to have you in Asgard. I hope no one has been giving you trouble."

"Not at all. But I have been cooped up in the palace. Maybe we can go around the city together sometime. I would love your company." Jane suggested.

Eir smiled. "Yes that would be lovely dear. Let me know when you are available."

Jane smiled. "I will. See you later." Jane hugged Eir and Loki and Thor thanked her and they went back to their room.

Thor and Loki needed to work on the treaty for Alfheim as they hadn't done it yesterday and Thor wanted to talk over it with council in the afternoon. They decided to involve Jane in the process so she could have a better understanding of how the relations between the realms worked. Asgard controlled most of the realms because of the Bifrost but they had their own rulers as well as their own policies which Jane needed to know about if she intended to stay with Thor and now Loki for the foreseeable future.

Jane found Thor was kind but Loki was shrewd when it came to ruling. On their own they were both two ends of a spectrum but together they balanced each other out well. Jane was more into science than politics but over the course of her career she'd dealt with enough skeptical men that she understood some of it. It was just that this was more about funding a kingdom than funding a project. The scale was bigger and the people were a bit different but the base was familiar territory.

Together they managed to draft a treaty that didn't seem too harsh to Thor and didn't make Loki think the elves were being given unfair advantage. By then it was lunch time and to Jane's surprise the cook had managed to cook up a burger. The sauces were different from what Jane was used to but it was a close enough recreation that she enjoyed it. She decided to go and personally thank the cook later.

As a matter of fact Jane decided to get to know the people around her better. Sif's outburst yesterday at the inn made Jane realize she needed ears and eyes of her own in Asgard. She had to have her own following if she expected to rule the people otherwise someone like Sif might come along and tarnish her reputation easily.

Loki and Thor were now bickering, Thor wanted Loki to come with him to the council meeting and Loki wanted to stay with Jane and teach her sedir. Jane wanted to do some exploring on her own.

"You should go with Thor to the meeting Lo." Jane interrupted before Thor and Loki managed to get into an actual fight.

Loki frowned at her. "But....we need to train you. The dusty old men are not important. I can..."

"Thor needs someone to back him on this treaty before the dusty old men and you know you can shut them down faster than anyone else. Go. It's just for a few hours. I'll be fine." Jane insisted.

Jane stroked Loki's hand and looked at him from under her lashes. She knew he couldn't resist that look. Sure enough Loki sagged in defeat and pouted. "This is not fair. You're being unfair. I am going but I'm very upset."

Jane kissed his cheek. "We'll make it up to you promise. Isn't that right Thor?" Jane asked playing with Loki's fingers, stroking his wrist. From the way Loki jumped slightly, Thor's hand was on his thigh under the table.

Thor kissed Loki's other cheek and whispered in his ear. "We'll do whatever you want in return Lo. Promise."

Loki stood up banging his knee in the process, blushing furiously. "We need to get going we're going to be late!" He practically ran from the room. Jane and Thor looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. For someone who constantly sassed other people Loki was surprisingly easy to embarrass.

Thor grinned, getting up and kissing Jane. "Well I better get going before Loki decides the council would look fetching in green. We'll see you for tea, dear."

Jane nodded. "Sure. I'll be around the garden or with Eir. Knock em dead."

Thor left a skip in his step. Jane smiled, it was good to see him happy. She sighed. She wanted to go to the market. She picked a dress in a shade of brown. It was meant for camping so it was simple and practical rather than fancy. She also picked a black cloak just in case it rained. The weather was warm still but it was also sticky now so Jane knew rains might be around the corner.

Jane took some money from the small chest by the dresser and made sure she had Loki's necklace and decided to head out, telling the guards to tell Thor and Loki she had gone to the market. She still didn't know how to ride a horse but she figured it wouldn't hurt to just walk instead.

The market was bustling as it was the middle of the day. In the plain dress and minus two handsome men by her side, Jane blended in just like any other person in the market. There were some who recognized her and did a double take but they smiled at her when she smiled at them.

Jane found a lovely bakery and bought some tarts she knew Loki would love and some cheese that she knew would go well with the wine Thor liked. She saw a smithy and was fascinated by how the smith fashioned the armors and weapons. It was a mix of old school metal work and the science the Aesir called magic. Jane asked a few questions to the smith, a large man with kind eyes and he answered them politely.

She wondered if she could have something commissioned for Thor but unfortunately Jane was not that well versed in armor and how it worked. She decided to look it up at the palace and come back later. She moved on and found some merchants selling different wares. Jane was considering some earrings when she heard someone arguing.

"Fucking stop badgering me Fandral. I told you I'm not apologizing to that whore! I am of noble blood. Why would I bow before **her**?!" Sif appeared angry.

Though in Jane's opinion she was always angry. The merchant whose shop she was in tutted at Sif, shaking his head. "Poor Lady Jane hasn't been in Asgard a month and already there's leeches trying to bring her down." He said looking sad.

A woman beside Jane perked up. "Have you heard the rumors Arne? They say King Thor intends to marry both Lady Jane and Prince Loki! How scandalous!"

Arne shrugged. He looked at Jane for a moment before looking at the woman beside her. "Eh. I don't care personally. I mean as long as we got food on our table and good trade what does it matter who King Thor marries? I say what goes on in a man's bed is his own business. Lady Sif is just being a jealous flossy."

"Arne! That's rude!" The woman exclaimed then she leaned closer. "I heard Prince Loki ain't really King Thor's brother by blood. You think that's why he's intent on marrying him?"

Arne shook his head. "Those two's always been close. I heard King Thor chased away all of Prince Loki's potential lovers for years. I'm not really surprised they're involved."

Sif smashed something breaking the conversation between Arne and the woman. Fandral looked embarrassed and like he wanted to be somewhere else. Jane frowned at her. Arne leaned over to the lady. "See Hilda. She's been like this a lot these days. Poor Lord Fandral keeps going around her apologizing for everything. I don't get it. It's not like there was ever any official announcement for an engagement between her and King Thor. I have never seen King Thor show any interest of that sort in her."

Hilda spoke in a low voice. "I heard her father is considering marrying her off in Vanaheim to Lord Njord. I don't think Lady Sif is aware of this. Her father's tired of this behaviour. He's worried she might anger the King one of these days and then they'd all have to face retribution."

Arne shook his head sadly. "Sad. Truly. If only she got some sense in her head, she could have been part of the royal court. Might even have gained a seat in the council. It's a wasted opportunity."

Jane backed away then. She'd heard enough. For a moment she considered confronting Sif in the market but that would cause unnecessary drama in broad daylight. She decided to catch her some other time when the woman was alone. It was time to sort this out once and for all. Jane went back to the palace and found Thor and Loki heading to the garden, probably to look for her. Jane called them out.

"Thor! Loki! Over here" Jane waved at them. Thor and Loki turned and looked surprised to see her with a basket.

Loki tilted his head at her. "Did you go out somewhere? You look like you went out somewhere."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Oh what gave it away? Was it the dress or the boots or the basket I didn't have before or the fact that we're standing at the entrance where I clearly am just entering?"

Loki pouted. "I went to that stupid meeting. You said you'd compensate me but here you are insulting me. Where's my prize?"

Jane held her basket up. "Well I thought you'd like the tarts I bought for you from the market but here you are acting like a teenager so I guess it's just me and Thor now."

Loki perked up. "Tarts? You got me tarts? Are these from Frode's bakery? The one beside the smithy? I love those!"

Loki tried to take the basket from Jane but she held it away from him. "Jeez you're like an ant with sugar. Let's at least sit down with some tea first. Come on you can tell me how the meeting went. Is the council still alive or did you stab them when they disagreed with your views?"

Thor laughed at that. "Oh they're barely alive. I think some of them want to resign now. There were no daggers drawn but I have never seen people being sassed so thoroughly before."

Jane giggled. "Yeah that sounds about right. I took a round around the market. There's only so many times I can go over the books detailing glorious battle before I want to chuck it out the window. The rumors haven't died down one bit."

"Is it still a rumor if it's sort of true now?" Thor asked.

Jane shrugged. "Probably not. The people seem generally ok with it though."

Thor held the door open for Jane and she set the basket on the center table, pulling her cloak off. Loki tried to steal a tart but Jane smacked his hand away. A servant brought in some tea and set the tarts in a platter and took the cheese away to be used later. Loki looked at Jane expectantly.

"Fine. Fine. Thank you for waiting five minutes for the tea to be set up Loki. Here's your reward." Jane said holding up a tart for Loki.

Loki bit into it happily. "Frode used to give them to me when I was a child and used to sneak away from the palace. I love the apple ones. They're the best in the city."

Jane took a bite as well. "Oh yeah. This is great. I used to have apple pie when I was a kid. My aunt loved baking and used to make it all the time. I'd come home from school and always stole some. She used to call me her little pie thief."

Thor grinned. "I used to steal the cookies our cook made during Yule. They were this amazing ones with great crumb and jam in the center. Mother used to get angry because then I'd have no space for dinner."

"Which was miracle since the oaf coud eat an entire cow on his own." Loki groused.

"At least I didn't get hives trying to steal honey from a honey comb brat." Thor retorted. He turned to Jane. "He was red all over and I had to apply the balm every two hours and put up with all the nagging."

"I don't nag! You're the idiot who thought it was a great idea to wipe the excess balm with a damp cloth. That completely defeated the point of putting the balm on in the first place!" Loki exclaimed.

Thor looked sheepish. "I was ten...I didn't know that. I only wanted to help...."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Well you should leave the healing to Lady Eir. It's not really your strong suit. You should have told us you were going to the market Jane, we could all have gone together." Loki looking at Jane concerned

Jane pinched Loki's side. "Don't give me that look. I can take care of myself. I don't need you to be my bodyguard. I had your charm thingy with me the whole time. I wanted to see somethings myself. I saw Sif at the market...."

Thor put his cup down and frowned. "Oh? She didn't hurt you did she?"

Jane shook her head. "No. I was at a stall and she didn't see me but she was arguing with Fandral. This merchant...Arne said her father's thinking of marrying her off to some lord in Vanaheim. Apparently he's worried Sif might make you angry and they'd all have to pay the price for it."

Thor frowned. "I would not blame Sif's family for her actions. She is a grown woman and can make her own choices. I wonder if she knows about this proposal."

"Probably not." Loki sighed. "Otherwise there would have been a riot by now and we would have heard of it. We'll keep an eye on the whole thing darling don't worry about it."

"Did you just call me darling?" Jane asked

Loki blinked, then blushed. "Er..."

Thor perked up. "Ooh. Are you going to call me by an endearment too? I have suggestions!"

Loki kicked his shin. "You're an oaf and I am going to keep calling you an oaf. Don't think you can bribe me with kisses!"

Thor switched sides so he was sitting next to Loki. "Is that a challenge brat?"

Loki swallowed. Thor was so close, Loki could feel the heat from his body. Jane sneaked an arm around Loki's waist and hooked her chin over his shoulder. "We're suppose to behave and woo Loki properly like the pretty Jotun he is."

Thor leaned closer so his nose was brushing Loki's cheek and groaned. "But our pretty Jotun is so hard to resist...."

Loki shivered when Jane's hand rubbed over his stomach. "I know but needs must. I was thinking we should take him to our lake."

Loki who had unconsciously closed his eyes,opened them and blinked at Jane. "Your lake?"

Jane nodded. "Yeah. It's in the forest in a secluded spot. It's not on the map and Thor is the only one who knows about it so I guess that means it's ours"

Thor hummed, placing a kiss on Loki's jaw. "Would you like that Lo? Would you like to see our lake?"

Loki nodded dumbly and was rewarded with a bright smile from Thor. "Perfect." Thor kissing Loki fully on the lips, then he stole the last tart and got up. "I have a training session with the soldiers now. I'll see you for dinner."

It was only when Thor was already halfway down the hall that Loki realized what had happened "Get back here you fucking thief!" Loki yelled making Jane burst into giggles and hearing laughter from the hallway.

Loki glared at her but then he shook his head chuckling. "I suppose even the oaf can learn some things over time."

Jane smiled at Loki. "Can we get started with some of that training I am supposed be doing now? I don't want to be a ticking time bomb"

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "Oh it would take an immense emotional outburst for your sedir to act up and hurt someone. But yes we should start working on it now."

Jane and Loki moved to the library and went over some basic training, which Loki did with ease but to Jane it felt like she was trying to exercise a muscle she didn't know had even existed before now. Even though all Loki wanted her to do was get a feel for her sedir and see if she could manifest it so they could get an idea of where her power lay it exhausted her. In the end all Jane felt was a change in the temprature of the room but it could have been because it was now evening going into night and not because of something she was doing.

"This is exhausting. I don't feel anything." Jane said dejected.

Loki stroked her cheek. "It will come to you darling. Sedir manifestations differ from person to person. Thor always felt the thunder in his veins but the fertility power was a surprise that came with no warning. I have always felt an affinity for chaos but I can also weild fire with ease. Quite ironic now that I think about it and I did not start experiencing my Jotun powers until I explicitly knew I was Jotun, hundreds of years after being a fully trained mage. It's just the first day don't be so hard on yourself."

Jane sighed. "I know. I'm just curious because I never thought I would have powers, it was something you read about in the fairytales and see in the news or in the movies and now I do. I kinda want to see what they would be. Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Loki said grinning.

Jane smacked his arm. "I'm not playing that game with you! Pull that shit on Thor. I'm serious."

Loki relented. "Fine. Ask away."

Jane bit her lip. "You....why do you hate the Jotun form so much? I mean I read the stories and I maintain them being bullshit and I understand that they have a hand in shaping your opinion. But you've known about you being Jotun for some time now right? You seem to hate it and I just....I worry because it's your natural form does it not take a lot to maintain the Aesir form all the time? You shouldn't have to hide Lo."

Loki looked at his hands. "I...I'm not hiding. For a thousand years this is what I thought I looked like. It feels weird to think that the face I've been looking at in the mirror all this time is not my real face. And I don't hate the Jotun form I just don't know enough about it. It's not like there is anybody on Asgard that can educate me. So I'd rather keep to a form I know everything about. Y-you....you don't seem pertubed by it...."

Jane shrugged. "Honestly you still look like you Loki. Just a whole lot blue and those horns are wicked cool. The marks...do they mean something....I mean do all Jotun have the same marks or are they unique to each Jotun? If you don't mind me asking..."

Loki shook his head. "I don't mind you asking. The marks are unique in a way....they symbolize my bloodline. Jotunheim has bloodlines and a Jotun of the same bloodline would have smiliar marks. That is how they identify their people. But like I said I don't really know much about their culture. The old Jotun I found was more interested in discussing the sedir of Jotunheim not the biology or culture of it's people."

"There has to be someone who knows. Maybe we can ask around. You should know these things." Jane insisted.

Loki shrugged. "Maybe...What about you? You've mentioned your aunt several times but I've never heard you mention your parents. Do they still live?"

Jane shook her head sadly. "My parents died when I was young. My aunt is the one who raised me though she's also passed away. I never had grandparents or siblings. It's just little old me now. I honestly thought I was going to spend the rest of my life in the desert searching for life on other planets. In a way I'm glad that Thor hit my car."

"Grazed. You're glad he grazed your car. We must stick to the tale Jane." Loki corrected.

Jane laughed. "Oh yes. Grazed. Can't have people thinking I go around hitting handsome princes from alien worlds. I have a reputation to keep up."

Loki grinned. They heard something clatter in the living room and poked their head in the room to see Thor had managed to trip over Mjolnir which he forgot he'd left by the center table and was now sprawled on the floor. "I'm alright!" Thor insisted from the floor.

Loki looked at Jane. "Well there goes our reputation. Are we sure we want this idiot around?"

Jane shook her head fondly and helped Thor up. "Yes Loki. We want Thor around."

"Pity." Loki mumbled. "At least look where you're going oaf. And don't leave your stupid hammer anywhere people can trip over it." He said louder.

Thor looked at Mjonir sadly. "I didn't want to take it to the training ring. Mjolnir is overkill for a sparring session. I thought we could have dinner by the lake. That would be like a date wouldn't it?"

Jane smiled. "Yeah. That's a great idea. Let's shower and get ready and we can go. Training in sedir makes people unbelieveably hungry apparently. I feel like I haven't eaten in ages."

Loki shuffled on his feet. "I...I will see in a few minutes then...."

Jane let her hand travel up Loki's arm. "Or...you could join us if you want..." she suggested.

Loki looked down at her with round eyes. "Is...is it alright if I don't?"

"Of course." Jane replied easily. "We'll meet you at the stables Lo."

Loki smiled at her and nodded. He went back to his room and sat on his bed. He had half a mind to go back and join Thor and Jane but that would be moving too fast. Loki didn't want to do that. Not with Thor and Jane. Not when he had so much to loose by making the wrong move. Loki changed into his riding clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. He wondered how many soldiers would attack him if he stepped out of the room in his Jotun form. All of them probably. He still didn't get how Thor and Jane could stand it. Loki couldn't. He was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far things were going well though.

Loki made his way to the stables where Jane and Thor were waiting for him. Thor with the picnic basket in his hands. They both kissed Loki on the cheek when they saw him. Thor secured the basket on his horse and Jane decided to ride with Loki. They took a path that would lead them to the forest going around the city rather than through it. Thor led Loki to the lake, the water was clear and sparkled in the moon. Loki did actually know about this lake. He knew almost all the nooks and cranies of Asgard including the fortress Odin had hidden in the mountains and he was almost sure there was some sort of dungeon underneath the vault but he decided he could let Thor have this one thing, he looked so proud when he showed it off to Loki that he just pretended to be surprised.

He did wave a hand to conjure a huge tent complete with a table and chairs and table settings for the food. He also conjured candles. That was something people did on romantic evenings right? Jane was absolutely delighted and even Thor grinned at Loki. They unpacked the food and sat at the table, eating in the candle light, Jane and Thor scooting as close to Loki as they could. Loki liked this,far away from the palace, no need to worry about prying eyes or wagging tongues. He hadn't done something like this in a long long time.

"This is nice." Jane commented, sipping sweet wine. They had decided they'd gotten drunk enough times for one month.

Thor rolled his shoulders. "Yes. It is isn't it? We should build a house here like you want. Then we can just disappear from the palace...whenever...."

Loki looked at Thor amused. "You? Build a house? Thor you can't even nail a painting straight on the wall. I bet the house would be all crooked and falling over. The idea has merit though...."

"Ah. I was wondering why we have a crooked painting of a tree in our bedroom. I tried to straighten it but then I realized the nail was screwed in all wrong." Jane said.

"Loki can't cook! He tried one time and the food was so inedible the cook thought it had gone bad." Thor said suddenly.

Loki shrugged. "Well I can cook up potions and poisons. Does that count?"

Jane gaped at him. "No! Poison is not food! Though if I'm being honest the only food I can cook is the one that can be done in the microwave. I can do dishes though. I understand the science behind it."

"Oh good. We have some use of Thor now. You hear that oaf? We're in need of a cook. You're hired." Loki joked.

Thor pulled at Loki's hair, growling. "Brat. Be nice. I'm the reason you didn't starve on all those camping trips. Otherwise where would we be?"

Loki stuck his tongue out at Thor and in response Thor threw a cupcake in his face. The cupcake smacked Loki on the forehead, splatting down leaving behind icing on Loki's face. Loki looked shocked then he narrowed his eyes and a nearby pie dumped itself on Thor's head. All the sauce going into his hair. "Food fight!" Jane yelled throwing frosting on both Thor and Loki and running away. They both looked at each other before chasing after her. They all ran around each other like children throwing food till Loki stepped on Thor's cape making him trip and fall on top of Jane. Loki conjured water from the lake and dumped it on them both soaking them completely.

"I win!" He declared happily. Thor pulled his leg and he went crashing down saved from hitting his head only because Thor put a hand under it. Thor shook his hair making water fly everywhere on Loki.

Loki srunched his nose, trying to shove Thor away. "Oaf! Let me go!"

Thor only chuckled not budging at all. Jane snuck closer to Loki putting her head on his shoulder. Her wet hair sticking to Loki's neck. Loki gave up letting his limbs go lax. Thor laid down beside him. They were all wet with bits of food in their hair and on their clothes but Loki could care less. He was...happy he realized with a start. Loki was happy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been happy. Loki blinked to clear the tears in his eyes.

He frowned at Jane when she shivered and shoved at Thor. "Come on get up. We'll all catch a cold like this."

Thor and Jane got up. Loki made his way near the tree line where the forest started and tapped his chin, looking for a spot. Thor and Jane came up to him.

"Here. Thor put your hand here and use your powers to make those trees over there deepen their roots." Loki guided.

Thor shrugged doing as instructed. Loki closed his own eyes and let his sedir flow more freely doing as he had learnt long ago in Alfheim. The trees grew taller and their roots went deeper. Loki coaxed them to combine and form a house replicating the building technique of the elves. Thor and Jane watched him fascinated. In a few minutes there was a small house standing near the edge of the forest. There was no furniture in it but the basic structure was complete with glassless windows and door frames

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen! That was fucking amazing!" Jane exclaimed.

"Well it would still need plumbing to be set up and furniture needs to be brought in and doors and windows need to be placed in the frames but..." Loki trailed off because his air supply cut off as Thor hugged him tightly lifting him off the ground.

"This is perfect Loki! You're the best!" Thor kissed Loki and set him on his feet leaving him dazed. Jane also kissed him firmly and Loki stuttered, blushing.

Thor and Jane rushed into the house and Loki followed at a more sedate pace. He waved a hand and they were all dry and clean again. He also conjured a huge mattress and several pillows and a big quilt. Thor and Jane looked at him questioningly.

Loki felt a blush on his face again. He rubbed his thumb on his palm in a nervous gesture. "I....I thought we could maybe sleep here tonight....if you want...."

"Awesome. I'm on the right." Jane said, chucking her shoes off and getting under the quilt.

"I'm on the left." Thor claimed, taking off his cape and sandals and getting in as well.

"I guess that means I'm in the middle." Loki said more as a question then a statement but he did wave off his own boots and cape and got in as well. Jane and Thor snuggled up to him. Loki relaxed. He did like being between them.

Jane played with the buttons on his tunic. "I used to camp out on the roof of my lab with a blanket and watch the stars for hours."

Thor put an arm around Loki. "We used to camp a lot when we were young. Just the two of us. Then later on Sif and the others started joining us. I missed our solo camping trips."

Jane hummed. "I'm thinking of resigning from the university...."

Loki and Thor both looked at her. "You don't have to.....people are not declared dead for seven years on Midgard right? You can keep it till then..." Thor started.

Jane laughed and shook her head. "No one is going to give me a sabatical for seven years. Erik might convince them to wait out a month maybe two because of my reputation but then they'd hire someone to take my spot. They can't fund a ghost..."

"If you need to go back maybe I can come with you....or maybe I can hold the fort as you say while you and Thor visit Midgard." Loki suggested.

Jane rubbed her nose against Loki's jaw. "You can't hold the fort forever and coming with me means being in your female form for a prolonged period of time with no choice to turn back. I don't want you to do that. It's easier for me to quit than for you and Thor to try and do a go between Earth and Asgard. I might have to serve the notice period that is to say I might have to stay on Earth till they find a replacement for me but maybe I can negotiate something,"

"How long is the notice period?" Thor asked.

"Ninety days from the day the resignation is accepted." Jane replied.

Thor nodded. "Then we'll temporarily move to Midgard till you have served it. No arguments Jane. You're going out of your way a lot already. We can handle go between for three months."

Loki nodded too. "I agree. That is what relationships are about right? Compromise. So if you have to give up your work we can stay until everything is sorted. It is only fair darling."

Jane sighed and laid her head back down on Loki's shoulder. "Now who's being unfair? How am I supposed to say no when you call me darling like that?"

Loki grinned, pleased by that and Thor stroked Jane's hair. He looked at them both seriously. "I was thinking of making an official announcement of our relationship.....I know there are many rumors doing rounds and we are still figuring things out ourselves but the way Sif has been behaving made me think. I don't want people to get the wrong impression. I...I want to talk to the council and make it official..."

"Maybe you should just announce your and Jane's relationship for now...." Loki mumbled.

Jane looked at him sternly. "Absolutely not. I'd rather we just let the rumors float if that's what we're doing. If we make an announcement it will be for all three of us. You're not some dirty secret Lo. You are our equal in this relationship."

Thor nodded. "Agreed. What was it you said a minute ago? Compromise. If we make an announcement it will be of all three of us in a relationship. You just have to compromise sweetheart."

Loki blushed at the endearment. "It's not a compromise if it's what I want...."

"If you didn't want to be excluded why did you suggest it?" Jane asked

Loki shrugged not looking at either of them. "Sometimes people say one thing but they want another. I...I just thought I'd give you a way out from the start....."

"One day you can tell us about the asshole who made you feel like this and we can go punch them for you. But for now...Loki if we want something we will tell you. We won't leave you in the dark wondering if you're doing things right. We promise." Jane said seriously.

Thor pressed closer. "Yes. You are free to share your wants. We will always listen. Always and we promise to share what we want in return."

Loki looked overwhelmed. He looked at Jane and Thor. "I...I have never really been in a relationship. I had no shortage of...admirers shall we say. But all they wanted was to use me as a stepping stone. To gain more power in court, to get closer to Thor or Odin or mother. They never loved me. They just thought I was easy. An easy way in. Of course I was in love Thor and didn't really want to be in a relationship. I was going to leave..."

Thor looked at Loki frowning. "Leave? When?"

Loki shrugged. "When Odin announced you as his heir, I decided I would leave once you were crowned. It was around this time that rumors started floating that Odin wanted to marry you off to Sif. She became ruder and ruder as the days passed and the others all joined in. It felt like suddenly I was a hindrance, an inconvenience. So I thought once you were King, I'd sneak off to some realm and never come back."

"You were just going to disappear? Without saying anything?" Thor couldn't keep the hurt from his voice.

Loki bit his lip, feeling guilty now. "I...all I could think was I'd have to watch you get married and have children and grow old with someone else. I couldn't bear the thought. I would not have been able to watch it and I would have ended up doing something I could not take back. So I just....I thought it was better if I just left. Just faded away from your sight. Those days you seemed more interested in other people's company. I didn't think I was going to be missed."

Thor looked extremely conflicted. He sighed and let his head rest on Loki's shoulder, breathing in his scent. "I had such a hard time keeping myself in control. All I wanted to do was kiss you and make love to you and shower you with all you wanted. I almost asked Odin to let me marry you proprietary be damned. I was going to name you as my chief advisor. I still want that."

"Why would you assume Odin would let you marry Loki? I mean you didn't know he wasn't your brother by blood back then right? I'm just confused because it seems like you thought he might agree." Jane asked.

"Our uncle Freyr is married to our aunt Freya, his twin sister. Now that I think about it I am surprised there has never been any rioting in Vanaheim over it. They do not come to Asgard. Ever. I wonder if it's because they think the people here will comment on their relationship." Loki mused.

Jane sat up on her elbows and looked at both Thor and Loki. "Wait a minute. Your aunt and uncle are twins and they're married and you've been worrying over whether our relationship will be acceptable or not and it didn't occur to you to maybe ask them about it? I mean they must have faced some issues right? Not everyday twins get married. I bet they can give us some advice."

Thor and Loki looked at her like that idea had never even crossed their mind. Jane shook her head at them, laying back down. "Hogun wanted us to visit right? Maybe we can go to Vanaheim and talk to them. Who knows? We might get some useful advice."

Thor nodded. "That is a good idea dear. Maybe we can take Fandral and Volstagg with us as well. Fandral could use the break from Sif."

Loki hummed. "Fandral deserves a longer break than some short trip to Vanaheim. I was thinking the other day and I realized I still have the Aether in my pocket dimension. I'm surprised it's been so quiet but it cannot stay there forever and it is a horrible idea to have two infinity stones together. I think we should send it away...out of the Nine Realms I mean."

Thor frowned. "Are you sure that is a good idea? We already know what a disaster it can be if it falls in the wrong hands. Maybe we can build a special vault for it here."

Loki shook his head. "It won't work. The Tesseract and the Aether will try to be in close proximity. They will lure people to them if they are both in the same realm. Like a siren call. I think we should give it to the Collector in the Andromeda Galaxy."

"The Collector? He's not trustworthy Lo! How can we be sure he would not sell the Aether off the minute our back is turned?" Thor asked.

Loki sighed turning towards Thor who shifted so they were nose to nose on the pillow. "The Collector is an Elder. Millions of years old and very powerful. I know he's not the most honest man but he's smart. He knows what the Aether is capable of. He would not sell it he'd add it to his collection and he's not going to flaunt it so it will remain hidden like it should. Trust me I know what I'm doing."

Jane propped her head on Loki's arm. "Why don't you put a tracker on the Aether? You know something to tell you if this Collector guy is keeping it with him. You can do that right? Maybe Heimdall can keep an eye on him and check in periodically as well."

Thor thought about it. He looked at Loki. "Could you do that? Could you put a spell the Collector won't sense?"

"Of course." Loki replied easily. "I always intended to do it. I was not just going to hand it over to the Collector just like that."

"Alright. We can send Fandral out tomorrow morning." Thor agreed. He pecked Loki's lips. "Enough talk about politics. We're supposed to be relaxing."

"And wooing our pretty Jotun." Jane pointed out. "Sadly I think we need to be a lot more adept at sedir to do that. Loki built us a house. How can we ever compare?"

Loki blushed. "It's not that much... it's just something I picked up in Alfheim..."

Thor hummed, running his hands lightly over Loki's torso making him shiver. "You're just being modest...this house is perfect...shall we show you how much we love it?"

Jane's hands joined Thor's and Loki stuttered, unsure what to say. Jane nudged him so he turned to look at her. "You can say no Loki. Always."

Loki bit his lip. "I want to but I..I don't w-want to mess things up by going too fast......"

Jane and Thor slowed the movement of their hands and then stilled completely. Thor kissed Loki's cheek. "Then we'll go slow. There is no rush. Is it alright if we sleep beside you? We can move if you want."

Loki shook his head, placing a hand over Thor and Jane's on his waist. "Stay. I....I like waking up beside you."

Jane and Thor snuggled closer to him. Jane buried her nose in Loki's neck. "We like waking up beside you too Lo. We should just move your bed in Thor's room and we can sleep together everyday."

"I'll have the servants do it tomorrow." Thor suggested, resting his head on Loki's shoulder.

Loki found he rather liked the idea and didn't protest. He burrowed deeper in the quilt and was soon asleep surrounded by the warmth of the two people who loved him very much.

TBC....


	11. Chapter 11

The days following their date passed in bliss. Thor talked to the council who were surprisingly complacent about an official announcement and the relationship in general. The only condition the council had was that the first born child be Thor's and be declared his heir as soon as it was born. Thor didn't care one way or another. In his mind any child born would be theirs but children were distant future for now so he agreed. They could always revisit the matter at a later date. The official announcement didn't cause all that much of a stir since Thor had Loki's bed moved just a day before and really in doing so had confirmed the rumors before the announcement came along.

The people didn't seem to care as long as other things continued to remain same. Jane tried to arrange a talk with Sif but once the official announcement was made she locked herself in her house and was not to be seen anywhere. Fandral had already been sent to the Collector with the Aether and Jane didn't feel like asking Volstagg or Hogun to go and fetch Sif. If the woman wanted to cope by locking herself in her house she could just so long as she did not bad mouth Jane or Loki in the public square.

Jane's sedir lessons continued to remain a dead end even though she was trying really hard and Eir kept saying her sedir channels were strengthening. Loki came to the conclusion that perhaps Jane had a subtle power not something as loud or tangible as Thor or his own but Jane felt in her heart that she held a tangible power the what escaped her though.

Aside from that hiccup things were going smoothly. Odin was almost forgotten in his room with only servants to tend to him. He showed no signs of awakening anytime soon. The Aesir seemed to have accepted that Thor would be their King now and rulers from other realms came to visit them. Thor's uncle and aunt did not show face and they were too busy to visit them just as they were too busy to go to Earth and sort things out for Jane.

Jane found herself acclimating more with Asgard and it's people. Arne and Hilda had become good friends with her, bringing her gossip from the market. Thor convinced Loki to take up their mother's mantle and teach the young mages. Jane trained with Thor and Loki now and then and they all went out to their house by the lake which now had furnishings and proper doors and windows whenever they wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

Thor, Jane and Loki did not consummate their relationship in the traditional sense but found themselves drawing closer to each other as the days passed. Loki never got around to setting up his room and instead just moved in with Thor and Jane. Mornings would find them on top of each and late nights were spent cuddling and sharing kisses. Loki explored his Jotun form with Thor and Jane by his side. He found their easy acceptance of it touching and in turn learned to accept it as well. They had all their meals together and would often spend evenings sharing ancedotes over tea. Jane learned horse riding and figured out what the various bits of armor and weapons were called.

She accquainted herself with the servants and the guards and set up a sort of lab in the market where the mages could experiment with sedir and other things and she could note down the observations. It was not quite the kind of work she did back home on Earth but it was in the same vein and something unique to Jane. A space where she could do things her own way.

All in all things were going well so it surprised Thor when one fine day on his way to a council meeting he found himself being pulled in one corner by Loki.

Loki was still shy despite them sharing personal space daily so Thor's eyebrows climbed to his hairline when Loki pushed him against the wall and put a hand over his mouth to keep him from speaking out loud.

"Sshhh." Loki whispered, looking around to make sure no one saw them.

"Lo? Why are we hiding?" Thor asked in a whisper.

"Because our lovely darling Jane now has more eyes and ears in the palace than we do. I'm pretty sure we are going to loose the kingdom in the divorce." Loki replied.

Thor rolled his eyes. "We'd have to be married for a divorce in the first place. I recommend we propose to her at our lake house. Is that all?"

Loki huffed. "Do you know what day it is today?"

Thor bit his lip. Had he forgotten something important? "Uh...the day I first met you...?"

Loki smacked his arm. "How would I remember that idiot! I was a baby! I mean what date is it today?"

Thor pouted. "Well you could have just asked that in the first place. It's the eighteenth. Why?"

Loki smacked him again. "Ow. Stop that!" Thor complained. "Just tell me whatever I'm supposed to remember!"

Loki looked like he was about to murder Thor so he held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry for not remembering. Please just tell me what it is sweetheart."

Thor knew Loki liked the endearment too much and tended to let things go whenever Thor called him that. Sure enough Loki sighed. "Well it's the eighteenth and in two days it will be the twentieth which is...." He prompted.

Thor frowned for a moment before the lightbulb went off in his head. "It's Jane's birthday."

"Precisely. So? What are we going to get her?" Loki asked. "Also I was thinking maybe we can do the celebration the human way.....you know invite her friends...your friends and have cake and everything..."

Thor blinked. "Are you sure Lo? You'd have to be in your female form around them. I don't want you to be forced into it."

Loki shrugged. "It would just be for a few hours or a day at the most. It's no hardship. Jane has made friends here but she must miss the ones she had on Midgard. I was thinking we can give her a surprise. She...she might like that...."

Thor kissed Loki's forehead. "So long as you are not uncomfortable. It is actually a great idea Lo. We can have Heimdall deposit us on Anthony's tower. I am sure he is capable of getting a message to everyone. For the present....I was actually thinking maybe we can have armor fashioned for Jane... she's picking up things rather quickly and even if her powers are subtle and not loud, I want her to have something of her own."

Loki bit his lip, nodding. "Yes. I saw her taking interest in armor and weapons of late and I know she's fascinated by the smithy. She was asking me how I chose my armor and what everything represented. I saw her looking up images of the Valkyries in the books. It is a good idea. I think I can help with the measurements and of course we can alter it if we are wrong."

"Perfect. We'll sneak out to Midgard after lunch while Jane is busy at the laboratory. I'll contact Etri later and make a request for the armor. We'll talk over the design after my meeting." Thor suggested.

Loki nodded. "Good. I'll speak with the cook and see about recreating some Midgardian food. He was fascinated the last time we brought food from Midgard. You write up the invitations in your name only. Don't add mine. We'll hand them over to Anthony. He can pass them on. We should also ask Alma to start working on a dress for Jane."

Thor nodded. "Alright. Now can we leave this corner? I'm pretty sure the guards in the hallway think we're having sex."

Loki looked at Thor from under his lashes. "Would you be averse to it svàss?"

Thor wrapped an arm around Loki's waist and kissed him till he was out of breath and his lips were red. "Not at all sweetheart. But I prefer to tie you to our bed and fuck you till you don't remember anything but my name, rather than a quick fuck in some corner" Thor growled in Loki's ear.

Loki twisted his hands in Thor's tunic and panted at the image that popped in his mind. Thor squeezed Loki's ass and nosed his pulse. Loki tilted his head automatically and pressed closer. Thor grinned in Loki's shoulder, then backed away. "But....I really do need to get to that council meeting so....maybe later..." Thor pat Loki's ass and then left him there in the corner.

Loki blinked for a good whole minute before he realized what his bastard of a brother had done. Loki stomped his foot and almost yelled at Thor before remembering that would draw the attention of everyone. He took a deep breath and calmed himself and tried to look less like Thor had his tongue down Loki's throat a minute ago. It did not work all that much but it was Loki's own fault for pulling the oaf in a shady corner like that.

Loki was pouting in full force by the time he got back to their room. Jane was in the library going over her notes, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hey Lo. What's with the pout?"

Loki huffed and sat down beside her.. "I **don't** pout." He insisted. "The stupid oaf left me...uh...." Loki stuttered not sure how to make an excuse for pulling Thor in a shady corner of the palace.

Jane looked at him amused. She got up and sat in Loki's lap. He automatically wrapped an arm around her waist. Jane swung an arm around Loki's neck and played with his hair.

"Hmmm...." She tapped her chin in thought. "Let me think...your lips are all red and you've got that adorable blush that makes you look pretty.... I wonder what you and Thor have been up to..."

Jane wriggled in Loki's lap and let her fingers skim under his collar. Loki swallowed. Jane leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Were you having all the fun...as Thor likes to say without me...?"

Loki shook his head vigorously. "N-no...."

Jane kissed the corner of his mouth. "Oh sweetie I would not hold it against you. Never. In fact I'd love to watch you both..."

Jane ran a hand over Loki's torso, looking at him through hooded eyes. Was it just him or had Thor and Jane always been this...eager? Loki shifted in his seat. He had been completely in the mood a few minutes ago. It hadn't quite toned down. Jane was wearing a green dress today that showed off her figure and Loki so wanted to rip it off right now.

Jane kissed Loki languidly, letting her tongue stroke his. Loki tightened his hold on her waist. Jane used the grip she had in Loki's hair to control the kiss, knowing well enough how much Loki liked that. When their kiss broke Loki found himself leaning forward chasing Jane's lips. But Jane smiled at him sweetly and ran a thumb over his kiss swollen lips.

"You and Thor can give me a detailed demonstration. But later, I promised Eir I would visit the market with her. So I'll see you later Lo." Jane pushed off Loki's lap and pecked him one more time, before leaving. 

This time Loki blinked at empty space for a good five minutes trying to understand what had happened. He was so hard and leaking. Loki tried to will his erection away but it didn't work. Biting his lip Loki unbuttoned his trousers, locking the door with a thought. It did not take him long before he was spilling over his own hand with the images Thor and Jane had put in his head

Afterwards Loki panted and stared at the ceiling. Then he giggled and then he was laughing. His two lovely mates were teasing him. Loki would have thought it rude if he wasn't so amazed that two beautiful people wanted him this much. Loki sat straighter and fixed his clothes and cleaned all the mess with a wave of his hand. Well two or in this case three could play that game but first to the cooks, they had a birthday on their hands.

Loki popped down in the kitchen giving instructions to Holger their cook. The man was excited at the prospect of experimenting with more Midgardian food. He promised Loki the feast would be one to remember and sent him off with a couple of tarts like he used to when Loki was a child. Loki contemplated how Jane's armor should look while eating the tarts. Then he pulled out fresh paper and decided to sketch his ideas. That's how Thor found him a half hour later when he returned from his council meeting.

Thor went to kiss Loki but Loki elbowed him hard and glared at him. "Fuck off! I'm not talking to you."

Thor laughed and sat down beside him. "Oh sweetheart it was just a little mischief. I thought you liked that sort of thing."

Loki pouted. "Only when I am not on the receiving end of it."

Thor shook his head fondly, then looked the sketches. "Are these designs for Jane? Hmmm...I like this. These are really good Lo."

Loki smiled. "Thank you. It's been a long time since I sketched. I'm a bit out of practice. Armor is very different to diagrams of the secret paths. I thought I'd jot them down and then you can see if you'd like to make some changes and we can come to a conclusion together."

Thor nodded, going through the sketches. "What about colors? Have you thought of it? I was thinking maybe throw in some fishscale armor like mine and some of the spelled leather you use. I know too many pieces will be difficult for Jane to handle. We need breastplate and greaves and of course vambraces but maybe we can do away with the rest. I am not sure if Jane would like a helm or not."

Loki thought about it. "How about a half helm like the one I use sometimes? I was thinking the wings would look good on Jane and she would be able to just braid her hair and not have to worry about fitting it in the helm. Maybe a variation of a cape in your blue and the leather could be black...?"

Thor smiled. "Yes that's perfect. I'll have Etri fashion all the metal workings and you imbue the leather with your sedir. Perhaps in future Jane can imbue it with sedir of her own. I best get started on the invitations. Is it alright if I invite all the Avengers?"

Loki shrugged. "Of course. I don't mind. I actually like them. They're strong willed. Shame the circumstances I met them in were....less ideal."

Thor stroked Loki's cheek. "Maybe one day we can tell them everything and you can make a better acquaintance with them. Are you sure you will be fine being in your female form for the party?"

Loki nodded. "Yes. I would not have suggested it if I was not willing. Are you.....are you sure it will be alright to let them know about....our relationship? Humans are rather narrow minded about these things...."

Thor touched his forehead to Loki's "Loki I love you and I love Jane and we are together no matter what. I am not going to hide you away. How did Jane put it? You are not a dirty secret, you are our equal and if anyone is not willing to accept it, they are welcome to leave and never show their face again but I will not and I mean I **will not** pretend our relationship is anything other than what it truly is. Understood?"

Loki nodded. Thor grinned. "Good. Now give us kiss." Thor said in a mirror of words said long ago in what felt like a completely different era. This time though Loki grinned and did just that and Thor closed his eyes relishing in the euphoria of having Loki here now beside him in every way.

On the other side in the market, Jane walked arm in arm with the Lady Eir. The people now recognized her more easily as she spent a considerable amount of time here now. Jane found she liked the people. On Earth she often found it difficult to converse with people outside of work but here it came to her easily. To Jane it felt like she was perhaps always meant to be here. Jane looked at a small boy trying on probably his first armor by the smithy and sighed.

"Something on your mind my dear?" Eir asked

Jane shook her head. "Oh it's nothing much. I was thinking....I think I want armor of my own. But I can't decide what it should look like. Do you have armor? Do you know how to fight? I feel like everyone on Asgard knows how to fight."

Eir shook her head. "Not everyone. Don't let the armor fool you some of these idiots can't even hold a kitchen knife properly let alone a sword. I do have armor of my own. Almost all who live in the palace are trained. A precaution in case of sudden attacks."

"Smart" Jane commented. "I keep trying to picture what kind of weapon I could use but I can't just pick one you know? I know Thor has Mjolnir and I am pretty sure Loki has a pocket dimension somewhere full of daggers but I don't know.....I read about the Valkyries. They sound awesome by the way. What happened to them? I read they all died in a war but I mean why did no one train another unit ever again?"

Eir looked nervous for the first time since Jane had met her. "I.......I suppose it never really came up after the original unit perished in battle. It was a long long time ago. I was just a little girl, I don't remember it well. You know when Thor was young he really wanted to be a Valkyrie until he found out they were an all women force of course...."

Jane knew Eir had deflected her and was now trying to distract her. Maybe she had lost someone when the Valkyries died. Jane decided to let it go for now. She smiled. "Really? Well I guess now I know what to get him for his birthday. Do you think I can bribe the smith to make a Valkyrie armor in Thor's size?"

Eir laughed though it was a little shaky. "You'll confuse poor Ragnar. Perhaps Loki can help you in that endevour. He does love watching our King trip over his own feet."

Jane actually chuckled at that. "Oh you don't know the half of it. I thought maybe the romantic turn in their relationship might tone things down but nope, sometimes I wake up to find Thor's hair is orange or his armor is all pink or he has Loki's sigil seemingly tattooed on his forehead and then he looks like a kicked puppy. Meanwhile Loki is just laughing his ass off and I am not sure how to react. They're a menace."

"But you love them anyways..." Eir pointed out.

Jane nodded sighing wistfully. "But I love them anyways.....If you would have asked me a few years ago if I would ever consider a relationship let alone a triad I would have laughed it off. But with Thor and Loki....I feel like.....it just fits. Like all three of us were waiting for each other. I just hope things work out you know when...if King Odin wakes up...."

Eir wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulder. "Oh it will dear. It will. I can see the love you have for both the Princes. If there's one thing I have learned in all my years is that love has the strength to conquer a great many foes. Things will be fine. You'll see. Now come, I'll introduce you to some of Queen Frigga's accquaintences. You'd like them."

Eir led Jane deeper into the city and introduced her to some noblewomen. They had served Queen Frigga well and were delighted to see Jane. She found the women polite but sharp and she could see why Thor's mother might have enjoyed their company. It would seem that even if Odin ruled, Queen Frigga had a sprawling network of spies in the form of the women of Asgard. A network that could send news to the very edges of the Nine Realms. No doubt Loki must know about it. Jane was more than happy to join them. She needed a firm following in Asgard after all.

Later in the day Jane went looking for her two idiots, a basket of freshly baked bread in her hand and a skip in her step. As she passed by the central wing she thought she heard some music but when she looked around there was no one. Jane frowned. She'd been hearing this music for a few days she thought it was a guest but they had no guests today. So where was it coming from? When no answer came to her mind, she shrugged and walked on. She could ask Thor or Loki about it. She found them both huddled in the library papers strewn everywhere, in a discussion that appeared heated but if the way Loki had his feet nestled in the corner of Thor's chair was any indication they were just engrossed in whatever topic had caught their interest. Jane set the basket in the center of the dining table and then went to go fetch Thor and Loki for lunch.

"Whatcha talking about?" She asked wrapping her arms around Thor's neck and kissing his cheek.

Thor jumped a bit obviously not having seen or heard Jane approach. Loki just smiled at her. "I was just telling the oaf he should cover his stupid face with a veil during the diplomatic talks. It would be much easier to secure good deals then. He has no ability to control his expressions. It's like reading an open book."

Jane giggled. "Oh come on Lo, aren't half of our deals secured because the diplomats are too busy staring into Thor's pretty blue eyes? We'd lose our greatest weapon!"

"Oh no they're just staring at the lovely tattoo I have given him on his forehead." Loki smirked, waving his fingers slightly. The words 'Loki's Oaf' appeared on Thor's forehead, making Jane laugh.

Thor frowned and then looked at his reflection in table. His expression changed to horror and then he glared at Loki. "Loki! Erase it! Erase it right now!"

Loki stood up and sat on Thor's lap and cooed at him. "Aww. But I thought you liked being my sweet little oaf...."

Thor pinched his side. "Change it back brat or I'll... I'll....I won't you sleep in the middle anymore!"

Loki snorted. "You need to work on your threats. Is that supposed to be some sort of punishment? I don't mind sleeping on the side. Come on now I'm hungry and I smell fresh bread. Did you visit Frode's bakery again darling?"

Jane shook her head. "No Eir took me to visit some of her friends in the city. Eyldis gave me the bread. I'm going to be at the lab in the afternoon. We don't have to entertain any guests today do we?"

"No, it's all quiet for now. Loki and I will go on a survey of the nearby villages but we'll be back for tea. Send a message to Heimdall if there's an emergency." Thor replied.

Loki kissed Thor's forehead, making the words on it disappear with his sedir and getting up. Thor squezzed his waist affectionately before letting him go. They all had lunch where Jane asked Thor and Loki about the Valkyries. Unfortunately neither Thor or Loki had been even born when they had existed. They knew only as much as the books said which was not a whole lot. There was Undrajarn often called the All-Weapon due to its ability to shift into the form of any weapon that used to belong to the commander of the Valkyries and was still in the Vault below the palace. But there was little else to remember the Valkyries by. Jane seemed fascinated by it and Thor promised to show it to her later.

After lunch they talked a bit and then Jane left for the laboratory. Loki shifted to her female form, opting for a deep green dress and Thor dressed in his usual Midgardian clothes. He packed away the invitations he'd written earlier and they made for the Bifrost. Heimdall greeted them with a smile and promptly sent them to Midgard to Anthony's tower. Loki was impressed when she found herself surrounded by several weapons as the light from the Bifrost disappeared. Anthony appeared in armor sans his helm, aiming at them before he realized who they were.

The weapons lowered and Anthony's armor dismantled on its own. He looked confused to see them. "Hey Point Break.....Vanya. What's up? You scared Jarvis there for a moment. Is everything alright?"

Thor smiled "Oh yes, we're fine Anthony! We actually come with an invitation. Can we speak inside?"

Anthony looked surprised. "Sure. Come along then. What's up? How's your dad now? And what about Dr. Foster? She was vomiting blood last time I saw her. Is she alright now?" Anthony asked as they made their way inside.

Thor nodded. "Yes Jane is well now. Father remains in Odinsleep but he is stable so not to worry there. How have things been on Midgard? Has the city of London been faring well since the attack?"

Anthony directed them to sit on the sofas in his penthouse. "Yeah they're fine. The buildings had minimal damage thanks to that awesome shield and the people were also ok. A bit shaken but they'll be fine. All in all the collateral was pretty low you know considering it was an alien attack and all. Fury was an asshole asking way too many questions about your lady friend here. I told him to fuck off with a capital F. What's the invitation for?"

"Jane's birthday is in two days. We wanted the Avengers to be there for the feast, along with some of Jane's friends. We thought it best to come to you as you would know where everyone is better than us." Loki explained.

Thor nodded, handing Anthony his invite and then all the others for the various people. Tony blinked at the green blue ink and the flowing cursive and the honest to god wax seal on the envelope. It looked like a summon from a king. Which it was he supposed.

"Huh. Neat handwriting. Uh....just to be clear you want the band to come celebrate Jane's birthday on Asgard?" Tony asked.

Thor nodded. "Yes....you and the rest of the Avengers are my friends and Jane is of Midgard. We thought she might like to celebrate her birthday the human way and..." Thor trailed off as Tony whopped.

"You hear that Jarvis?! We're going to party on an alien planet!!! Awesome!!! Cancel all my appointments and call Pep!" Tony turned to leave before spinning back. "Wait what about plus ones? Can I bring Pep, she's my girlfriend. Oh and what about Rhodey? He's my best friend. Can I bring him too?"

"Uh...sure you can bring them alon-" Thor was cut off because Tony hugged him almost falling on top of him.

"Great! J activate protocol 'Avengers Party' Code red. Get everyone on the line! Put them on the screen there" Tony said excited.

Before Thor or Loki could protest, Jarvis was dialing the emergency line and calling all of the Avengers. Soon there were familiar faces on the screen well some familiar faces. Tony, Thor and Loki squinted at the screen when in one corner all they could see was someone's nose.

Tony blinked realizing it could only be one person. "Woah that's America's nose! Cap move the phone a bit away from your face would ya? It's a video call not a voice call"

The angle changed and now they could see Steve's hair and a bit of his eyes. Tony pursed his lips to keep from laughing. "Eh...a little bit lower. A bit more... No I don't want to see your window.....or your kitchen...are those waffles?....to the left....sorry the other left...yeah that's it. That's it. Now keep it there." Tony instructed as Steve figured out the angle where everyone could see his face.

"Well that was a blast. What's with the call man? What the heck is this protocol? Where'd you even get this number?" Clint asked.

Tony was excited again. "We're going to party on an alien planet!!!"

Everyone looked at him confused. Bruce sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Tony how much coffee did you drink?"

"More importantly how much sugar was there in that coffee?" Clint added.

"I see Thor in the background" Natasha pointed out before the boys could start a pointless argument.

Thor took the chance to step closer to the screen and explain things. "Yes Lady Natasha. I came to invite you all for the feast in celebration of Jane's birthday. It's in two days. I would love to have you all there."

"He even made these fancy schamncy invites. Like who even writes in cursive anymore. J scan em and send them on." Tony ordered.

"You want us to go to your planet to celebrate your girlfriend's birthday? I had no idea Dr. Foster was on Asgard all this time. Are you sure it won't be a trouble?" Steve asked.

"No. Not at all. We wanted to give Jane a surprise and well she has been missing some things from Midgard so we thought why not have her birthday celebration the human way?" Thor explained.

"We? Who's we?" Bruce asked.

Thor moved to the side a bit so Loki could be seen in the frame. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "This is Vanya. She is..."

"Oh hey it's that lady from London! I saw the footage. Those shields were awesome." Clint exclaimed, cutting Thor off.

"Fury wanted to recruit her for the initiative but you'd all already left by then" Natasha added.

"How are we even supposed to get to Asgard? I am not fond of stressful modes of transport." Bruce wondered, looking half stressed already.

"We wil use the Bifrost of course. Anthony's tower can withstand it. So you can all gather here and Heimdall will open the Bifrost for you at the right time." Thor suggested.

"Come on guys. It'll be fun! Don't tell me you don't want to explore an alien planet." Tony insisted.

"Well....I guess we could spare one day...right? I mean I'm cool with it." Clint agreed.

"As long as there are no stressors or alcohol. Absolutely no to the alcohol." Bruce insisted.

"It is a great opportunity for a getaway...." Nastasha mused.

"We would love to be there for the party Thor. In two days.....so that's the twentieth right? Tony is it ok if we crash at your place a day before?" Steve asked.

"Pfft! I got a whole tower. Pick a room....heck a floor if you want Cap. It's a non-issue." Tony replied.

Steve nodded, then looked at Thor. "We'll be there Thor."

Thor grinned. "Perfect. I shall have Heimdall pick you up from the Tower's roof at eight on the morning of the twentieth. Feel free to bring anyone you want to along."

"Awesome. Ok now I gotta go. Later guys." Clint disconnected the call.

Everyone else said goodbye as well and ended the call. Tony turned to Thor. "You're gonna stay awhile or are you leaving now? I'm asking because I gotta get a head start on the packing. You don't mind if I bring some equipment along do you?"

Thor shook his head. "No. You can just keep it with Jane's equipment or at the new laboratory we now happen to have. I will take your leave now. Please do send the invites to Erik, Darcy and Ian as well. We'll see you in two days."

Tony nodded. "Sure thing Point Break. Vanya. I love the dress. Very chic. Gotta get Pep one of those. Catch you guys later."

Thor smiled and made his way back to the roof pulling an amused Loki with him. Heimdall brought them back to Asgard. Thor looked at Loki. "That was not so bad."

Loki shook his head. "Anthony is like an over eager puppy. Bruce seems to be having a breakdown just thinking about this trip. Clint is coming only for the alcohol. Natasha is going to spy on everything and I am pretty sure the Captain agreed only because he thinks it's rude to refuse. Your friends are crazy and we did not get a chance to tell them about our relationship. It's going to be a catastrophe"

Thor laughed. "You underestimate them sweetheart. Besides it'll be fun to see the shock on their faces when they figure it out. It'll be just fine."

Loki rolled his eyes. "We'll see. Now let's go and pretend like we actually visited some villages. You send Etri a message. I'll speak with Ella and have rooms set up for our guests in case there is alcohol involved after all."

Thor nodded. They made their way back to the palace. Loki instructed Ella on the rooms and told her to ensure Jane did not catch them making the arrangements. Thor sent a message to Etri with the design Loki and he had come up with. Then they made their way back to their room, looking for Jane.

"In here!" Jane called from the bedroom. She was changing into a different dress. Loki saw the green one from morning had soot all over it.

"What happened Jane?" Loki asked concerned.

Jane saw where he was looking and sighed. "Oh it's nothing. A mage at the lab mixed the wrong potions together and caused a small fire. Nothing to worry about. But the dress is a lost cause. How did the survey go?"

Thor frowned. "It was fine. Are you sure you are alright? Maybe we can visit Eir."

Jane shook her head and got up on her toes to peck Thor. "I am perfectly fine. Not even a scratch. It was an accident. Those tend to happen in a lab. There's no need to worry so much. Can we go see that weapon you mentioned earlier?"

"Sure we can darling. Why the sudden interest in Valkyries? If you don't mind me asking...." Loki asked.

Jane smiled at him. "I don't mind Lo. It's just fascinating to think about an entire unit of women warriors. Also there's so little about them in the books. I wonder why. I'm just curious. I also heard that someone really wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was young." Jane teased.

Thor looked mortified. "I didn't know they were a women only force! Not that there's anything wrong with a woman being a warrior....I love women...I mean not like love love....that's just you.....heh....but like....I'm a great supporter and..."

Jane put a hand on Thor's shoulder to stop him from rambling on. "It's fine honey. I get it."

"Oh no please let him continue telling us how much he 'loves' women." Loki said blinking rapidly at Thor.

Thor shoved at his shoulder making Loki laugh. They made their way to the Vault. Jane's eye was immediately drawn to Undrajarn. Loki felt the feeling of deja vu. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. Jane went over to Undrajarn. It was currently in the form of a bracelet. Once worn it would then change shape as per it's wielder's wishes. Jane seemed hypnotized by it.

"Do you hear that music? What is that?" She asked suddenly.

Thor and Loki looked at each other. Thor took a step forward. "Jane we don't hear any music...."

Jane wasn't paying attention to them. "I've been hearing it for a few days...."

Jane reached out to touch Undrajarn just as Thor and Loki both put a hand on her shoulder. They were thrown back as Jane's sedir manifested itself for the first time, interpreting them as a threat. Thunder rumbled loudly and the walls of the vault shook, then frost covered the floor, spreading outward from Jane. Guards came rushing in pointing their spears only to find Thor, Loki and Jane unconscious on the floor, Undrajarn around Jane's wrist and the ice on the floor forming the pattern of the triquetra.

TBC......


	12. Chapter 12

When Jane came to she was in the healing rooms on a bed, a concerned Eir leaning over her. Loki and Thor were beside her, still unconscious from the way they were breathing. Jane vaguely recalled the vault and hearing a strange song before she felt power pulse inside her and everything went black. She tried to speak but her tongue was like lead in her mouth.

  
Eir shook her head. "Do not try to speak dear. You used a lot of your sedir and are weakened. You have been unconscious for three hours. The guards brought you here. His Grace and Prince Loki did wake up briefly but then slipped back into sleep. I see Undrajarn has chosen you as its wielder."

  
Jane followed Eir's line of sight and saw the bracelet on her arm. It felt alive to her. She realized she'd been hearing it like Thor often said he could hear Mjolnir. Jane looked at Thor and Loki in concern. She now recalled her blast of sedir had knocked them out. Jane hoped she hadn't hurt them. Eir sighed and sat down beside her.

  
"It took me and Heimdall to convince the council you did not attack Prince Loki or King Thor. They wanted you in the dungeon but Heimdall convinced them to bring you here. We tried to shift King Thor and Prince Loki but their sedir reacted negatively to being away from you so we put all three of you here together." Eir explained.

  
Jane lifted her head slightly and saw there were guards in every corner of the room and at the door with Armod also present. He looked at her apologetically. Jane laid her head back down. "W-would n-never..."

  
Eir nodded. "I know you would never hurt them intentionally but the idiots on the council are apparently not blessed with the gift of rational thought. Is it alright if I take a scan?"

  
Jane nodded. Eir moved the soul forge over her and examined her. She frowned. "I can see your sedir moving more freely now. And....I see a connection with Thor and Loki's sedir. Heimdall mentioned the triquetra carved on the vault's floor. Lady Jane it would appear you are in the initial stages of a bond with His Grace and Prince Loki."

  
"H-how...?" Jane asked more out of curiosity than actual surprise.

  
Eir looked at her. "You are all so very close and your sedir is particularly sensitive to your desires. It developed so quickly, I see the changes happening in you rapidly even now. It would seem your sedir all of your sedir acted on desires of the heart. Perhaps it is time to have an important conversation and make a choice...."

  
Loki groaned at that moment, his eyes moving beneath his eyelids as he woke up. Then he sat up suddenly. "Jane!!" Loki was frantic till he spotted Jane beside him. He sagged in relief. "Oh you're here. You're here...."

  
Jane tried to speak again. "F-fine....j-just t-tired....."

  
Loki looked around and took note of the sheer amount of guards in the room. He hopped off the bed and stomped over to Armod. "Why are there so many guards in here?"

  
Armod looked nervous. "The council wished to keep an eye on Lad-"

  
"Jane is not a threat. Get out! All of you! Out! Right now! There will be no guards around Jane to 'keep an eye' on her. The council can fuck off. Send them to me if they argue with you." He ordered.

  
Armod hurried to obey Loki not wanting to face his wrath. Thor woke up at that moment and looked around frowning. "Jane? Loki? Ow...what happened?"

  
"The All-Weapon Undrajarn chose Lady Jane as its weilder. You attempted to stop her from touching it prompting her sedir to defend her and in turned knocked yourself out." Eir explained. She purposely did not speak of the recent discovery she and Jane had made. Jane nodded to her slightly in gratitude. She wanted to know what Thor and Loki thought of the bond before that revelation.

  
Loki came around the bed and spotted the bracelet now on Jane's arm. Thor blinked down at Jane in surprise before grinning. "This is wonderful! Undrajarn belonged to the commander of the Valkyries. It is the most powerful weapon in Asgard besides Mjolnir. It has not chosen a weilder in centuries since before my birth. This is an auspicious sign. This great!"

  
Loki smiled at Jane too. "Yes this lovely darling. I cannot think of a better successor to the Valkyries than you. Your sedir manifested. This is good news!"

  
Jane smiled and tried to move, then grimaced. "She needs to rest. Her sedir is new and she exerted a lot of it. After all it is no small task to knock two sedir wielders like yourselves out. Undrajarn is silent so I assume it accepts Jane well. I recommend more sleep and good food. I also see biological changes. Jane's DNA as she calls it almost matches the Aesir now. This is indeed cause for celebration" Eir said smiling.

  
Thor and Loki looked near tears and like they wanted to hug Jane. But they couldn't so they instead settled for a chaste kiss on her lips. But they were practically beaming, Jane could see it. She was tired though and her eyes felt heavy. Loki stroked her hair. "Sleep darling. We will watch over you." Jane smiled at Loki and Thor one more time before giving in to the clutches of sleep.

  
The next time Jane woke up she felt better and found herself in their room on their bed. She was wearing a wispy green gown that was no doubt Loki's doing. Thor and Loki seemed to be arguing over something. Loki was pacing while Thor sat at the edge of their bed.

  
"How dare they! They wanted to throw Jane in the dungeon! Have they lost it?!!"

  
"Loki you know as well as I do that the council has a habit of overreacting. You must admit that at first glance anyone might assume what they did."

  
"But they shouldn't! They are supposed to know better. What if Heimdall hadn't had the sense to be there on time. Jane needed medical aid and they were willing to dismiss it. Not even the worst prisoner deserves such a treatment!"

  
The like me was implied but Jane heard it as did Thor if the way he pulled Loki in his lap was any indication. Thor touched his forehead to Loki's. "I am sorry everyday I am sorry for the way you were treated. I wish so badly that I could take it back. You are right not even the worst prisoner deserves to be treated like this. I shall have a firm word with the council. It is time Asgard changed some of its ways. You will help me sweetheart won't you?"

  
Jane dragged herself over to them and hugged Loki as well. "We'll build a better Asgard together."

  
Loki huffed. "You are supposed to be resting. Revolutionary political decrees can wait. How do you feel now?"

  
Jane rested her head on Loki's shoulder. "Better actually. My muscles are a little sore but its nothing a little massage won't fix...maybe a hot bath with two handsome princes would do the trick too...."

  
Thor chuckled. "Food first. You need to keep up your strenght."

  
Jane pouted. "You're no fun. I'm not getting out of bed."

  
"It's fine we can just eat here. But I agree with Thor, you need to eat." Loki insisted.

  
He got off Thor's lap and brought over a platter of fruit and cheese along with some finger foods Holger had come up with inspired by the Midgardian food Loki and Thor had given to him. Thor fluffed the pillows and removed his boots and cape. Loki conjured his sleep clothes and Jane leaned against the pillows. Loki got in the other side so Jane was between him and Thor. He set the platter between himself and Jane and popped a piece of apple in his mouth. Jane fed Thor some peach and picked a piece of what looked like it was supposed to be some kind of roll up. It was delicious. Jane felt ravenous and ate more than she usually did, something that did not skip the notice of Thor or Loki.

  
After they had eaten, Thor poured them some sweet wine. Jane sipped it and mulled over how to bring up the conversation of the bond. Loki noticed her nervous look. He put a hand on her knee. "Don't worry Jane, your sedir is growing nicely. It seems Undrajarn accepts you well enough. We will train and take things slowly. It will be fine."

  
Jane bit her lip. "It's not that...I know you guys would never let things go further if you didn't think I could handle it. It's just....I...uh...I was thinking about the soul bond. Have you thought about it? Do you think we should go for it?"

  
Loki stilled completely and seemed to shut down before he blinked at Jane. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before stuttering. "Y-you w-want a-a soul bond with m-me..?"

  
Jane looked at him sadly. "Loki did you really think I would just forge a bond with Thor only? I love you too and if we pursue a bond now it will be between all three of us or none of us. I told you before, you are our equal in every way."

  
Thor shuffled forward and put his hand over Loki's. "Yes. We would not exclude you from the bond. You are a part of this relationship too. And...we want you Loki in every way possible...."

  
Loki looked overwhelmed. It broke Jane's heart every time Loki assumed he was not a part of things. He was getting better at expressing his desires but a lot of times Loki still thought his opinion was unimportant. It spoke of years spent being ignored or pushed aside and Jane wished she could make him see how much he mattered to both her and Thor.

  
"A bond like that would be forever.... you might gain my memories and be able to feel my emotions and..." Loki trailed off when Jane put a hand on his cheek.

  
"I understand that and I still want to forge a bond with you. Forever with you sounds perfect." Jane said.

  
Thor wrapped an arm around Loki's waist and pulled him closer. "Forever with you is too short a time sweetheart. We want you in this life and the next and however many more after it. Would you be our bond-mate? Do you want us?"

  
"More than anything I've ever wanted..." Loki whispered.

  
Jane leaned forward. "Then we're yours and you are ours. Now and always..."

  
Jane kissed Loki then long and deep till they were out of breath. Thor pulled Loki to him when they broke apart and took her place, kissing Loki with a passion that made Loki's blood warm. Jane set their glasses aside and pawed at Loki's clothes.

  
"What do you want? Tell us what you want...." She panted

  
Loki broke his kiss with Thor and looked at her. "I want to fuck you. I want to feel you around me" Then he looked at Thor. "And I want to feel you inside me."

  
Thor and Jane both moaned at that. Thor tried to take Loki's tunic off while trying to get out of his clothes at the same time. "Off. Come on take this off." Thor insisted.

  
With a thought Loki banished all their clothes. Jane shivered under his touch. Thor led Loki to lay down between him and Jane, then they were on him, kissing and biting their way down his torso. Loki moaned his cock hard and leaking, wanting attention. Thor nipped at his hip and Jane kissed down his stomach. Loki weaved his fingers through their hair and panted when Jane licked the head of his cock while Thor ran a tongue around his cock. He looked down and almost came at the sight of Jane and Thor kissing while stroking his cock together. He used the hold he had on Jane's hair to pull her up to him and kissed her. Thor leaned over Loki and kissed his jaw, his hard cock bumping against Loki's own.

  
Loki's skin rippled and wavered as he let himself go, his Jotun form taking over. He broke his kiss with Jane. "Sorry....sorry....I wasn't paying attention..sorry...." Loki stuttered and had to bite his lip from moaning when Thor's lips found the mark on his shoulder.

  
Thor traced the marks on his face. "Don't be. You're beautiful Loki in all your forms, in all your colors."

  
"Yes. And we're terribly selfish people. We want you in all your forms, in all your colors." Jane agreed.

  
Loki thought his heart might burst. It was so full. He had never imagined anyone would ever love him like this, would accept him like this. Thor's eyes were drawn to his horns again. He tentatively reached out a hand and stroked Loki's horn. Loki bared his teeth in reaction. All of his Jotun marks especially the ones on his horns were extremely sensitive to touch. Jane caught on and proceed to nip and bite at the marks on Loki's shoulders, driving him mad with lust.

  
Loki rolled over pining Jane beneath him. He kissed down her throat and took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking on it. Jane moaned. Thor sat behind them and squeezed Loki's ass, parting his cheeks. Loki swore when Thor licked a stripe from Loki's hole to his perineum. Jane ground up into Loki, as Thor proceeded to open Loki up with his tongue. Loki didn't know whether to buck forward into Jane or grind back into Thor.

  
Jane brought one of Loki's hand to her mouth and sucked on two of his fingers. Then she directed Loki to her pussy. He brushed his fingers against her cunt and rubbed her clit with his thumb, then lowered his fingers to her hole, slowing easing one in. Thor pushed at his hole with a finger at that moment making Loki moan. Jane pulled him down for a kiss again. Loki eased another finger into Jane and scissored opening her for him.

  
Thor tapped his side. "Oil."

  
Loki blinked and oil pooled in Thor's palm. Thor added another finger in Loki's hole, looking for that spot inside him. Loki nearly howled when Thor found it, pushing his fingers deeper in Jane, making her moan. "Inside me. Come on I want you inside me." Jane panted.

  
Loki withdrew his fingers and Thor stopped his ministrations as Loki lined his cock with Jane's cunt and pushed into her. He was not quite the same girth as Thor but he was long and in his Jotun form he had marks on his cock as well which brushed against the walls of Jane's cunt, making her toes curl. Once Loki was inside her, Jane wrapped her legs around him, trying to encompass Thor as well. Thor shuffled closer, the head of his cock brushing Loki's open hole. Thor kissed up Loki's spine as he entered him. Loki dropped to his elbows, open just enough that it burned slightly as Thor entered him. They all panted for a moment, then Jane nudged Thor with her foot, prompting him to move. Slowly they found a rhythm, Loki pushing into Jane and then pushing back into Thor.

  
Loki drove into Jane, sucking her nipples and kissing her. He changed his angle and found the spot inside her that made her see stars, rubbing against it incessantly. Thor weaved a hand between their bodies, feeling the point where they were both connected. He thumbed Jane's clit, just the way she liked it. Jane was reduced to a moaning mess, unable to draw enough breath as Thor and Loki fucked her. She clawed at Loki's back, her nails catching on Thor's nipples as she came. Loki was not far behind as her channel tightened around his cock and Thor rubbed against his prostrate at the same time. Thor pulled Loki up by his horns, making him automatically pull out of Jane. He kissed Loki harshly, all teeth and tongue and set a hard pace. Jane sat up turning Thor's head and kissing him as he chased his orgasm. Thor came when Jane squeezed his balls and Loki clenched around him milking his cock. Finally spent, Thor let go of Loki who simply lay boneless on the bed, sated. For now at least.

  
Jane lay on his left and Thor lay on his right, both of them wrapping an arm around his waist. Loki shuffled forward and managed to get his head on a pillow. Thor traced the marks on his back as they basked in the afterglow and Loki's form slowly melted back to his Aesir form again. Loki lazily waved a hand cleaning all the mess and Jane pulled up the covers, snuggling closer to him. Loki turned on his side and wrapped an arm around her, Thor wrapped an arm around them both. The last thought Loki had was that he would do anything to keep Thor and Jane with him. Anything. No more looking back.

  
Deep in the bowels of Helheim, Hela felt Undrajarn's call, it had chosen another wielder. She smiled satisfied and propped her feet on her makeshift throne. Odin was before her on his knees, inside a greenish black bubble. Hela had slowly managed to pull Odin's soul to Helheim. In a way. It was still tethered to his body, which meant to the healers he would appear in a coma of sorts. But here he was, in front of her at last. She had plans. Plans Odin could never even imagine. He was daft like that. No creativity. And now with Undrajarn active, this was the perfect time.

  
An undead guard brought Hela a bowl of black berries. Hela popped one into her mouth and smirked widely at Odin. "Well did you feel that Odin? Undrajarn has chosen a successor. A new valkyrie! How lovely! If Undrajarn is active, soon I might have someone freeing me from this....prison. You can earn favor if you let me out now. I promise to feed you when you are in the dungeon....sometimes."

  
Odin glared at her from his place. That was all he had done since Hela managed to pull him in this state. Odin was too weak to fight against her but like the stubborn old man he was, he refused to give in. Hela set her bowl aside. She stepped off her throne and stalked towards Odin.

  
"I do not want your stupid throne. Not anymore. I have all I need here. You know what I want. You cannot keep him hidden from me forever. I saw your memories you bastard! Where is he?!!" Hela demanded, the ground shuddered as her temper unleashed, unhinged.

  
Odin refused to budge. He simply blinked back at Hela. She wanted to tear him to pieces. She could but for her plans she needed Odin alive. When Odin did not say anything she screamed at him frustrated. She shoved her hand in the bubble of green and black, violently ripping into Odin's mind. Odin screamed as Hela tore into his mind, uncaring if it hurt him or not. She had no patience anymore. It was time to put her plans into motion.

  
On Saakar, a bottle of alcohol slipped from Brunnhilde's grip as the mark on her arm started to burn. Undrajarn was active. Brunnhilde stared at her arm feeling sober for the first time in centuries. How was this possible? She thought without _her_ Undrajarn would sleep till time was but a memory. Could it be? Brunnhilde shook her head. No. Odin still lived and while he lived, he would not set _her_ free. It meant only one thing....Undrajarn had chosen another successor. Another wielder. Brunnhilde stared at the walls of her room. Another wielder. Another Valkyrie. After all this time. For centuries Brunnhilde hid in this corner of the universe, regretting her actions. Running from the fact that she had failed. She had failed her people, her fellow warriors and most importantly she had failed her one true friend. She was no warrior. Not anymore. She was just a broken woman trying to forget her mistakes. But now...this....how could Brunnhilde ignore this?

  
Brunnhilde got up and brushed the glass into the bin and cleaned the floor. Her hand itched towards another bottle of alcohol but she shook her head, controlling herself. She had to get to Asgard and see this new wielder for herself. It had been strangely quiet in the Nine Realms. There had been some huge mess with the convergence but since then Brunnhilde had not heard any rumor among the crowds on Saakar. There was no way Odin would just let someone wield Undrajarn just like that. Something had definitely changed. Brunnhilde hurried out of her room, collecting her armor and her sword. The Grandmaster was holding an orgy tonight in his private chambers which meant no one was watching the ships. The perfect time to steal the Commodore. It was time to stop running.

  
TBC....


End file.
